Lethbridge – With a spot already secured in the 2017 Canada West women's soccer playoffs, the Lethbridge Pronghorns will host their final home games of the season, welcoming the Prairie Division leading Alberta Pandas and southern Alberta rival Mount Royal Cougars.
The Pronghorns take on the Pandas Saturday at noon and wrap up the regular season Sunday at noon versus the Cougars. Both games are at the University Community Stadium and will be streamed live on
www.canadawest.tv
All three teams have punched their tickets to the playoffs so this weekend's match-ups are all about jockeying for positions. The Pronghorns (4-6-2) can finish as high as third place and as low as sixth, while the Pandas (8-2-2) have not clinched top spot quite yet as the Calgary Dinos are only five points back. The Cougars (4-4-4) sit one place ahead of the Pronghorns in fourth but could vault up to second with two wins of their own and losses by Calgary and Saskatchewan.
Earlier this season, the Cougars beat the Pronghorns in Calgary and the Pronghorns battled the Pandas to a scoreless draw in Edmonton.
A look at the teams:
Last weekend on the road, the Pronghorns tied the TRU WolfPack in Kamloops and dropped a tough 1-0 decision to the last place UBCO Heat. With 14 goals scored this season, the Pronghorns sit in the middle of the pack in the Prairie Division and are tied for the third lowest goals against in the division with 15 against.
The Pandas handed the always tough UBC Thunderbirds a 2-1 loss last weekend but then lost 1-0 on their home field to the Victoria Vikes. Pandas lead the Prairie Division and are third overall in goal scoring in Canada West with 24 goals in 12 games. Defensively , the Pandas are tied for the fewest goals against in Canada West only allowing six goals against.
In their last action, the Cougars tied both of their games at home, battling the Vikes to a scoreless draw and the T-Birds to a 3-3 tie. Entering the weekend, the Cougars have scored the same amount of goals as the Pronghorns (14) but have allowed four more goals against (19).
Players to Watch:
Lindsay Amatto continues to lead the Pronghorns in goal scoring with five, while Kayla Blacquiere and Nikki Furukawa, who will play in their final home games this weekend, are next with four and three goals respectively. Blacquiere also has two assists to lead the Pronghorns in points with six.
The Pandas rely on a balanced attack with seven players having at least two goals to their name but Sydney Daines and Karrisa McNutt lead the Pandas. Daines leads the team with five goals and three assists, while McNutt has four goals and three assists to sit second.
Erin Holt leads the Cougars in goals with three, while Hailey Nicholson and Jullien Ramirez each have scored twice this season.
Next up for the Pronghorns:
The only thing that the Pronghorns know is that they will play at least one game next weekend, their destination or opponent have yet to be decided. With all the movement that could happen, the Pronghorns will have to wait until Sunday to find out.
