Ooks look to keep great season going at provincials

The NAIT Ooks women’s soccer team is heading to provincials in Calgary with an undefeated record. The team currently has a record of ten wins and no losses, giving them a bye to the semi-finals. The team has gone largely unchallenged in league play, averaging nearly six goals per game. Carole Holt, the NAIT’s head coach, doesn’t expect her team to take it easy at provincials.

“We’ve talked about it during the season and our players have done a really good job of staying on task,” said Holt. “We’ve got a good mixture of returning players and new players and our returning players have done a good job of leading.”

The Ooks will face the winner of the quarter-final matchup between Concordia and Red Deer. The Ooks beat Concordia 6-1 the previous weekend, but did not face Red Deer in the regular season. If the Ooks win their semi-final game, they will likely face SAIT, who also went undefeated in the South with a 12-0 record.

SAIT also received a bye to the semi-finals and have the added advantage of being the host school. However, Holt thinks her team is built to perform in a high-pressure environment like provincials.

“I think we’re gonna be put in pressure situations and we had two really good games this past weekend that put us in pressure situations, so we saw how our players are able to respond and they did a really good job of that,” Holt said.

The Ooks will face off against their opponent Saturday. If they win, they will play for the gold medal and a ticket to nationals Sunday.

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