Trojans pick up road decision over Kings at Red Deer Polytechnic

Brent Forster - Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

Red Deer, AB – With both the SAIT Trojans and Red Deer Polytechnic Kings entering their showdown Friday afternoon with undefeated records, something had to give.

On the strength of an early SAIT goal along with a trio in the second half, the visitors picked up a 4-0 decision, keeping their unblemished record intact.

The Trojans struck in the third minute. SAIT's midfielder Senay Haile converted a pass from third-year Nicolas Gonzalez behind Kings goalkeeper Jared St Thomas for a 1-0 edge.

"That early first goal didn't change our plan. Those things happen," said Gerald Grobmeier, Kings Soccer Head Coach. "There were 85 minutes or so to get it back. We honestly came out and played extremely poorly the first half."

The Trojans outshot the Kings 4-1 over the opening 45 minutes. SAIT's goalkeeper Ben Press turned aside the only shot he faced from Kings first-year defender Wataru Oguchi.

In the 49th minute, the visitors went up by a pair. From the corner, Italy's Matteo Zanin sent the ball out front of the Kings' net and striker Zach Michaud found room on the right side.

Twenty minutes later the Trojans added another goal. SAIT applied pressure and Matteo Zanin chipped the ball over St Thomas for a three goal cushion. Gonalez picked up the assist.

Jolly Kopoanomo tacked on Trojans' fourth goal in the 87th minute. Gonzalez recorded his third assist.

"I'm not sure if we were too hyped for the game because it was a big one," said Grobmeier. "We struggled receiving the ball, we struggled making a pass, and we were late on our tackles a lot. It was certainly not the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings that I'm used to coaching."

The Trojans outshot the Kings 10-2.

Sarcevic (14)

Red Deer's Ajdin Sarcevic, a first-year Business Administration General student, was named the North Star Sports Kings Player of the Game. Senay Haile received the honour for the Trojans.

"Ajdin is our captain and he was trying to rally the troops, especially when it wasn't going well in the first half," said Grobmeier. "We had some players that had some good moments and some bad moments, and Ajdin was consistent throughout the game."

On Sunday, October 10, the second place Red Deer Polytechnic Kings (3-1-1) will face the fourth seed Medicine Hat College Rattlers (2-3-0) on the road at 4 pm.

"We still have a lot to play for on Sunday. If we win, we will finish second and get the first round bye, which is extremely important. We will be giving everything on Sunday to get that bye, so we have a few extra days of rest and start preparing," said Grobmeier. "It is tough with a bye because we don't know who we are playing against, but that's fine. I'm confident in this team. We just need to do our job and don't need to plan for a specific team. If we play our game, it will take care of itself."

SAIT (5-0-0) will compete against the Broncos (1-3-1) in Olds at 2 pm on October 10. The top six teams from each division will qualify for the postseason.