WINNIPEG — Riding the momentum of a two-goal spurt midway through the first half, the MacEwan Griffins (5-2-1) secured a 3-0 victory over the Manitoba Bisons (3-4-1) on a blustery evening Sunday, October 2 at the Turf Fields West Field on the University of Manitoba campus.

In a battle between two women's soccer playoff hopefuls both teams came into Sunday's matchup on the heels of a confidence-boosting shut out win the day before, the game had the intensity of a post-season match up what with three crucial points on the line in a tight playoff race. 

MacEwan's goal scorers included Suekiana Choucair, who scored what turned out to be the game winning goal at 33' with assists from Samantha Gouveia and Alexa Adams. Mia Fornelius scored MacEwan's second at 35' with a great strike from within the Bison box, assisted by Kristyn Smart and Choucair. Gouveia would later get a goal of her own from a great pass from Jamie Vriens in the 65', securing her nod as player of the game for the visitors.

"We know MacEwan is always a really, really difficult opponent to play against," said Bisons head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas. "The thing we really to improve on is finishing our chances because especially against really good teams like MacEwan, if you don't put it in right away you get yourself into trouble. And that's what happened today."

The Griffins maintained good ball control early despite good defensive pressure applied by the Bisons. Manitoba struggled to keep the ball on MacEwan's side of the field as the visitors enjoyed the best scoring opportunities early. The Griffins were able to consistently lob the ball deep past the Bisons defenders to a sprinting Adams. They connected on the play a few times, but Adams was unable to finish. MacEwan continued to cause chaos in front of the Bisons net, but Bisons keeper Maddie Wilford stood strong in net. 

The teams continued to exchange scoring chances throughout the first half. Manitoba had it's best chance to open scoring at 24' as Chelsea Dubiel's shot from the top of the box hit the crossbar. Moments later, MacEwan had a fantastic chance of their own, but Gouveia could not find the right header touch on a perfect cross parallel to the Bison goal line. 

Choucair would open scoring for the visitors at 33', getting a shot past a sprawling Wilford. The Griffins doubled their lead just two minutes later, as Mia Fornelius got off a great shot from inside the box that beat Wilford. MacEwan continued to press hard, getting three straight corners and a brilliant free kick taken by Coucair that just hit the crossbar. Undeterred, the Bisons would not back as they tried to cut into the Griffins' lead before the end of half. Selina Speranza and Bruna Mavignier led the Bison counter attack, but the Griffins were able to snuff out any threat and take their two goal lead into the second half. 

"We need to capitalize on our chances and also need to keep working on is the mental toughness," said Martinez Lagunas.

"Even when one goal comes, we cannot drop that much."

The Griffins came out strong to start the second, keeping the Bisons mostly penned into their own half for the first ten minutes. But Manitoba continued to push offensively, with Sara Schur nearly connecting with a header at 55' that just went over the crossbar. The Bisons continued to threaten with a pair of corner attempts, but Griffins goalkeeper Emily Burns managed to corral the ball and settle things down. 

MacEwan has a golden opportunity to extend their lead to three in the 65' as Gouveia broke in alone on Wilford, but the Bison keeper made a brilliant diving save. in the 73', Gouveia would be sprung in again on a brilliant pass from Jamie Vriens, and this time she made no mistake beating Wilford along the ground for some added insurance for the visitors. Manitoba would get a free kick at 81', but Speranza's attempt would sail just over the crossbar. Things got chippy in the final minutes, as Alyssa Daly was given a yellow card for some physical contact away from the play. Manitoba continued to press, but Burns and the Griffin defenders managed to keep the clean sheet.

After splitting the weekend series, Manitoba will need to regroup and focus on their next opponent as they fight and scrap to earn a playoff berth.

"Every weekend is going to be a playoff game and we need to deal with that pressure and just be really well prepared mentally, physically, and tactically for each game," said Martinez Lagunas.

Manitoba play the Winnipeg Wesmen next as part of the Duckworth Challenge. Game one will be played at Investors Group Field on Thursday, October 6,  with kick-off scheduled for 6pm CDT.  The second half of the weekend match up will be played at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex on Saturday, October 8, with kick-off scheduled for 12pm CDT. MacEwan head back to Alberta for a pair of games against the the Mount Royal Cougars. MacEwan hosts the first game at 12pm MDT on Sunday, October 9, then travel to play at Mount Royal for an evening game on Tuesday, October 11, kick off at 7:15pm MDT. 

Scoring Summary: 

1ST HALF

MAC: 33' - 9 Suekiana Choucair (A: 4, 2)
MAC: 35' - 20 Mia Fornelius (A: 10, 9)

2ND HALF

MAC: 65' - 4 Samantha Gouveia (A: 14)

Game MVPs:

Manitoba - #7 Selina Speranza
MacEwan - #4 Samantha Gouveia

STATS:

Shots:

Manitoba - 12 (7)
MacEwan - 25 (15)

Corners:

Manitoba - 4
MacEwan - 6 

Cardings:

Manitoba - 1 Yellow (5 Alyssa Daley)
MacEwan - 2 Yellow (14 Jamie Vriens, 21 Kristen Skrundz)