LATE GOAL PROPELS RUSTLERS TO HARD-FOUGHT WIN OVER VOYAGEURS

LAC LA BICHE, AB – The Portage College Voyageurs could be forgiven if they felt like they checked into the Heartbreak Hotel on Sunday afternoon. Fresh off a 4-1 loss at the hands of the Concordia Thunder in Edmonton on Saturday, the Voyageurs returned home to face the Lakeland Rustlers in a fast-paced game that had a little bit of everything – except a victory for the home squad. Nathan Tran scored his second of the game in the 80th minute to give the Rustlers a hard-fought 3-2 win in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Bold Center Soccer Field.  

"It was pretty intense, you know," said Voyageurs' Player of the Game Corwin Schieck, who created several scoring opportunities and ran the equivalent of what seemed like six marathons during the game. "We actually played together as a team and we played for each other." 

Trailing 1-0 at half, the Voyageurs kept the pressure on the visitors and had several glorious scoring opportunities, including a missed penalty kick. Finally, in the 64th minute, Yves Mwenedata managed to tie the score on another penalty kick. The deadlock lasted less than a minute, however, as Hani Tekheste notched his second of the season on a stellar passing play. 

Unfazed, the Voyageurs continued to press and tied the game when second half sub Dominic Douglas scored a beauty in the 73rd minute, much to the delight of the fans in the stands. Again, the joy was short lived, however. Cue Elvis and his famous track, accompanying Tran as he notched his seventh of the season on another beautiful passing play by the Rustlers. The Voyageurs had a few chances to equalize once more but couldn't beat Rustlers' Player of the Game Nicholas Filipovic before the final whistle sounded.  

Despite the loss, Schieck was upbeat after the entertaining game.  

"We wanted to play for each other and we fought our hearts out," he said. "One hundred percent we can build on this for our next game."