Thunder strike late to upend home opener for women's soccer Huskies

The Keyano Huskies women's soccer team returned to the pitch Saturday for their first regular season game since October 2019, but were felled by a late goal that gave the Concordia Thunder a 2-1 win. 

"[They were] probably a bit unlucky to not get more out of it," said head coach Niels Slotboom. "I thought we played a really good game. At times there were some breakdowns and that's where they made us pay. 

"We probably deserved a little bit better than that." 

It was the Huskies striking first in the match as Nathalie Andersson chased down an opponent deep in the Thunder's zone and forced the turnover. From there, she centered the ball to Amber Deep, who controlled it near a pair of Thunder defenders before sending a perfect lob shot over the goalkeeper to open the scoring. 

"We were all connecting passes," said Madison Tyson about the buildup to the goal. "Everyone was working together, communicating and switching. 

"Everything was just coming together and we looked like an actual team, rather than individual players." 

Slotboom credited the play as a product of their effort in practice and making use of the space they got even when the opportunity may be limited in timing. However, he also stressed the consistency in following that sort of play up with others like it to put a full effort together. 

Working their way back into the match, the Thunder got a fortunate bounce as an indirect shot hit a Keyano defender and deflected past Chole Gamble to get the visitors on the board. 

The Thunder moved ahead late in the second half as Skylar Slade-Wein scored with five minutes to go in regulation, leaving the Huskies little time to mount a comeback. 

With a quick turnaround to their next contest, Tyson had some positives for the Huskies to take into Sunday's matinee. 

"Even though we didn't work as a team in the second half, the first half was really good," she said. "We're still strong as a team and connecting as a team, we just need to work on that a little bit." 

The Huskies play host to The King's University Eagles Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at Shell Place. 

Tyson and Anne McClelland earned player of the game honours for their respective sides.