With their regular season set to begin in early September, the Portage College Voyageurs men’s and women’s soccer teams will be getting ready throughout the summer months.
Macky Singh, head coach of the soccer programs at Portage College, said this means putting a considerable amount of emphasis on recruiting existing students from campus locations across the region and potential players and students from near and far for the 2024 roster.
“I have been spending a lot of time recruiting players from Canada and internationally for this coming Fall 2024 and next Fall 2025,” he told Lakeland This Week.
Singh, along with members of his coaching staff, attended the First Touch Football (FTF) Canada Showcase in Edmonton from July 1-3, and will be watching for talent at the Alberta Soccer Provincial Tier 4 Rural tournament in St. Paul from July 5-7.
Focus on women
The Voyageurs are also hosting a women’s soccer camp and campus tour on Saturday, July 13 at the Bold Centre Soccer Turf Stadium and at the Portage College Lac La Biche campus. The camp, Singh said, is open to any female athletes aged 15 years and older.
This marks Singh’s first full season with both soccer programs, which he says are in a rebuilding stage.
The Voyageurs’ men’s and women’s soccer teams finished the 2023 season in sixth place in their respective seven-team Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) divisions, having lost 10 games each.
The upcoming men’s program, he explained, will be working from a defensive standpoint, as the last season saw the Voyageurs finish with the highest goals-against numbers in the league.
“With several defensive recruits coming in, the plan is to be solid defensively, which will provide us a platform to be competitive in every game,” he said.
As for the women’s program, he continued, the work is going to focus on all sides of the field.
“This year’s focus will be on individual and team performances,” he said, adding that this involves improving the technical abilities of individual players and the team’s overall tactical game understanding.
Both teams will also benefit from an increased focus on team relations and community involvement.
“We will be focusing on improving the overall team fitness levels and implementing a new tactical game model in terms how the team will play this season,” Singh explained. “We will also be working on establishing a new team culture, engaging in a few team bonding sessions, and volunteering within the community.”
Tryouts
The training camp and pre-season begins on Sunday, Aug. 4. There will also be an opportunity for any students at the college to attend tryouts as a ‘walk-on.’
During the pre-season, the Voyageurs will also be hosting a mini exhibition tournament from Aug. 16-18 at the Bold Centre soccer turf stadium. Portage College, along with Northwestern Polytechnic and Olds College will be participating in the event.
Portage College will also be playing Lethbridge College in an Exhibition game in Edmonton on Saturday 24th August
The regular season for the Portage College men’s and women’s soccer squads begins on Saturday, Sept. 7 with an away game against the Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder while the home opener takes place against the NAIT OOKs on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.
Any players interested in attending the camp, studying at Portage, or trying out for the Voyageurs soccer teams can do so by contacting Macky Singh at [email protected] or 403-507-0915.
Veterans and rookies –
A sneak peek at the Voyageurs roster for new season
When the Portage College Voyageurs men's and women's soccer teams return to the pitch this September, fans there will be a few familiar faces in the lineup, including Bjorn Goolie, Sheldon Close, Fiston Kiese, Victor Lourenco, Brooklyn Haub and Karyl Cuesta.
Alongside returning players will be some new members of the squads, including several international footballers who have already been signed, including Ben Kenny, a goalkeeper from the Republic of Ireland who is in the Business program at Portage College, and Centre back Cody Lawson of Northern Ireland, enrolled in the University Transfer program.
Other new recruits on the men’s roster include local prospect Jess Oladejo from St. Brides, who played in the Fulham FC Academy in England, and Alexander Mehari of Calgary, a winger who is currently training and playing for the Montreal-based Valencia FC Academy.
New players on the women’s roster include fullback Ava Mackenzie of Sherwood Park, who is pursuing an Education degree and played for St. Albert Impact Tier 1, and forward Adriana Haub.
Veteran Voyageurs Sarah Jones and Emma Bendera will not be returning to the women’s squad. Jones, who served as a team captain last year, graduated with a Business Diploma, while Bendera is now a full-time teacher in Lac La Biche. She will continue to work with the women’s team as an assistant coach.
