OLDS — The Olds College Broncos men’s and women’s soccer teams took care of business on home field at Richardson Pioneer Field in Olds on Saturday as both teams defeated the Ambrose University Lions.
The women won 6-0, and the men won 2-0; their first win in the season.
Women’s soccer
Reigning ACAC Female Athlete of the Week Tiona Paton paced the Broncos offense with four goals, while Mirtalem Vriend scored her first two ACAC goals to earn Broncos Player of the Game honours.
Kaia Galuska had a relatively quiet afternoon in earning her first ACAC clean sheet for the Broncos (2-1-1), while Joy Watson made seven saves for the Lions (0-5-0).
Vriend opened the scoring in the 17th minute for the Broncos, then doubled her tally in the 26th minute. A minute later, Paton got on the board to give Olds College a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.
Paton then supplied the entirety of the offense for the Broncos in the second half, scoring in the 52nd, 79th and 82nd minutes to put the match out of reach.
For the Lions, Shifra Hetherington earned Player of the Game honours.
The Broncos will meet the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens in Olds next Saturday, Oct. 1 at noon.
During a recent road trip, the women’s Bronco squad picked up four of a possible six points with a 1-1 draw in Lethbridge and a 3-1 win in Medicine Hat.
Tiona Paton supplied the entirety of the Broncos’ scoring punch for that weekend, which earned her ACAC Female Athlete of the Week honours.
The second-year forward out of Morinville has worked with rookie midfielder Mirtalem Vriend to form a dynamic attacking punch driven by speed.
Broncos head coach Allan Siwela was also particularly impressed with keeper Kaia Galuska in her last outing, in which the Lake Country, B.C. native picked up Player of the Game honours in Medicine Hat.
Men’s soccer
Dylan Campbell made four saves to earn his first Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) clean sheet for the Broncos (1-1-2) and pick up Player of the Game honours, while Connor Klassen also made four saves in a losing effort for the Lions (0-3-0).
The match was evenly contested through the first half, but the Broncos took a 1-0 lead into halftime, courtesy of Valentin Kirchner's third goal of the season in the 43rd minute.
From there, both teams had opportunities, but an own goal from the Lions in the 90th minute put the Broncos up to stay.
For the Lions, Thuok Yat Cheek earned Player of the Game recognition.
Next up, the Broncos lock in for a Central Alberta battle as they welcome Red Deer Polytechnic Kings to Olds on Oct. 1 for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
Before last weekend’s action the men had obtained 2-2 draws against Lethbridge College and Medicine Hat College, both of which came after the Broncos made second-half comebacks.
After Garren Oosterhuis got the Broncos on the board, keeper Joao Batista made key contributions at both ends of the pitch on Saturday in Lethbridge.
He scored the game-tying goal from his own side of half just before added time to get a result for the Broncos.
Meanwhile, it was Broncos captain Valentin Kirchner who produced a point for Olds College in Medicine Hat with a goal off a penalty in the 55th minute, then finding the back of the net again seven minutes later.
The Broncos thought they had the potential match winner in the 89th minute, but the play was deemed to be slightly offside.
This story, written by Broncos Sports Information Officer Geordie Carragher, was edited by the Albertan.