LAC LA BICHE - The Portage College Voyageurs men’s and women’s futsal squads had a good season and showed considerable improvement, according to the team’s head coach Macky Singh.
During the season, the squads participated in the first and second Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) north Regional Qualifiers. The first round of qualifiers was held at the Bold Centre over the Jan. 17 weekend, while the second event took place on Feb. 21 and 22 at Northwestern Polytechnic in Grande Prairie.
The season for the Voyageurs concluded during the second regional qualifiers, with both squads finishing at the bottom of their respective ACAC North Divisions.
The Voyageurs men and women improved significantly between the two regional qualifiers, with the men ascending from a record of 0-5 to 3-2, said Singh. The performance of the players on the women’s squad was excellent, he added.
“Both teams' mentality was focused, and [they] worked hard during the training sessions to apply what we worked on into the games,” he told Lakeland This Week.
The second regional qualifiers, Singh said, was overall a positive weekend for the teams, who improved in both performance and results.
“We were very focused and wanted to perform well.”
During the North Regional 2 in Grande Prairie, the North Division teams battled it out to determine who would be going to the ACAC Futsal Championships.
The championship games were then hosted by Lakeland College in Lloydminster over the March 7 weekend and featured the top three futsal squads from the northern qualifiers going up against the top southern Alberta teams.
Looking ahead
This year’s futsal rosters had several outstanding players, according to Singh. These players included Brooklyn Haub and Karyl Cuesta, Youssef Shedeed, Matteo Scipione and Daniel Hyrsky.
“Matteo Scipione and Daniel Hyrsky were top performers scoring four goals each between the two regional qualifiers,” said Singh.
During the season, there were challenges.
The women’s squad lacked players on the roster, which caused fatigue.
As for the men, they battled with missed scoring opportunities.
“We needed to take our scoring chances, which would have given us better results,” said the coach.
Looking ahead to next season, the Voyageurs coaching staff will be making changes and improvements in an effort to make the teams more competitive. Many of the players on the rosters of the men’s and women’s soccer squads also play futsal for Portage College during the shorter winter season.
On the men’s side, officials have recruited some quality athletes to further strengthen the futsal program. This has meant bringing in some forwards that will help score goals.
As for the women’s squad, coaching staff are focusing on beefing up the roster.
“We are currently recruiting to ensure we have a larger roster, as well some quality to ensure we will be competitive this Fall 2025 [soccer] season,” Singh said.
