Nassichuk-Dean and Queens blank Rustlers on the road

Brent Forster - RDC

Lloydminster - The Red Deer College Queens Soccer team was looking for a bounce back performance against the Lakeland College Rustlers after a 2 - 2 draw last week, and the group of determined RDC student-athletes responded in spades. After scoring in the early stages of the first half, the Queens kept the pressure on the Rustlers defence and goalkeeper and earned a 4 - 0 road victory. 

The RDC Queens wanted a strong start, and they got it. In the 12th minute, Crossfield's Haley Nassichuk-Dean beat Rustlers goalkeeper Kiera Sunderland to give the Queens a 1 - 0 edge. Only 16 minutes later, Nassichuk-Dean found the back of the net again. Her scoring touch would continue in the second half. In the 70th minute, the second-year Bachelor of Science student completed the hat trick and five minutes later Kayla Yeo rounded out the scoring for a 4 - 0 victory. 

Queens Head Coach Esad Elkaz was extremely pleased with the effort and result. "I think after last week the girls were mad at themselves, but they know what they are capable of," he says. "They knew what they had to to, and they did it. Today, they really dominated in all areas including ball possession and corner kicks."

Haley Nassichuk-Dean (16)

Elkaz was very impressed with the performance from Nassichuk-Dean. "Haley did absolutely everything right this afternoon," he says. "She went after every ball and was rewarded with three goals and the Player-of-the-Game."

In the game, Elkaz took the opportunity to give first-year goalkeeper Alethea Riemer some playing time and also eased an injured Queen back onto the pitch. "I put Alethea in goal with about 20 minutes remaining in the second half to give her some experience," he says. "Bronwyn Pfeifle returned from injury and I wanted to slowly work her back, giving her 10 to 15 minutes today."

Erin Gill played the majority of the game in net and both goalkeepers were solid, not letting a single ball past them for the shutout.

The second place RDC Queens (6 - 1 - 1) will host the first place SAIT Trojans (7 - 0 - 0) on Saturday, October 13, at 12:00 p.m. in a battle between the top two women's teams in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Soccer South Division. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) has the RDC Queens ranked 14th nationally while the SAIT Trojans are slotted third.