Thanks to a 4-1 win over the Assiniboine Community College Cougars and a 1-1 draw with the Brandon University Bobcats last weekend, the Providence Pilots men’s soccer team passed the halfway point of the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference season tied for second place in the standings.

“Getting the tie against BU was a good result,” analyzed head coach Joey Passi. “They’re a good team with lots of offensive power. We conceded more chances and possession than what we would have liked, but ultimately what counts is the result, so we’ll take it and use it to get better for our upcoming games.”

The Pilots women also faced the Cougars and Bobcats, although they lost 4-2 to ACC in Brandon and 3-1 to BU in Otterburne. MCAC Female Athlete of the Week for Week 3 Makayla Myer was a bright spot for Providence, however, finding the back of the net against the Cougars to remain third in MCAC scoring. The women are third in the standings after six matches.

In volleyball, both Pilots teams spent the weekend of September 28-30 in Red Deer, AB, where neither side was able to win against a field including some of Canada’s top college-level teams.

Fourth-year left side Danella Alvaro executed 34 kills and 25 digs for the women’s team over the course of the weekend, which included defeats to Grand Prairie Regional College, Kings College, Keyano College and Lakeland College.

“The weekend in Red Deer was definitely a learning experience for us,” remarked head coach Kyle Guenther. “Our young team is still finding out a lot about ourselves. Even though we didn’t come away with a victory we can take a lot from these games. We did play some great volleyball at times but struggled to do so for a whole match.”

The Pilots men also dropped their four matches, losing in straight sets to each of Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Douglas College, King’s University and Red Deer College.

Finally, Calgary-based St. Mary’s University beat both the Providence women’s and men’s teams, and the men’s outfit also lost to Caronport SK’s Briercrest College.

“We battled with two tough opponents from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference,” said men’s guard Chris Dick. “There were some great takeaways, and the team is going to learn from these experiences and bounce back for our upcoming games.”