Smith and RDP Queens drop Kodiaks, move into second in the south

Red Deer, AB - With the ability to leapfrog over the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women's Soccer South Division standings, the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens delivered a solid performance Sunday afternoon.

The home team received goals from four different student-athletes and downed the Kodiaks 5-1, moving into second place in the south.

"The game was very good for the Queens," said Mahziar Peyrow, Red Deer Polytechnic Queens Soccer Head Coach. "We made some adjustments from yesterday's game and the girls applied those adjustments really well and this is the result because of it."

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks made an early push, sending a shot just wide and forcing Queens goalkeeper Abby Kotyk, a first-year Bachelor of Kinesiology student, into making a good save.

Kotyk (31) made seven saves

Soon, momentum switched in favour of the home team.

After a few blocked shots in front of Lethbridge's net, Sylvan Lake's Grace Smith sent a low shot past Kodiaks goalkeeper Jordan Quinn in the sixth minute.

Seven minutes later the RDP Queens went up by a pair of goals. Estel Quinteros sent a corner kick to Lethbridge's far post and ACAC Women's Soccer scoring leader Sein Furuyama capitalized.

Alisha Coules (9) and Furuyama (20)

In the 34th minute, the Queens expanded their lead to 3-0 when Red Deer's Corbynn Fujimoto headed the ball past Quinn.

Then on a penalty kick, Furuyama found space on the left side of the Kodiaks' net, providing the Queens a four goal cushion at the break. It was Furuyama's 16th goal of the season.

Sherwood Park's Paige Kalbfleisch added the Queens' fifth marker six minutes into the second half.

The Kodiaks eventually put one behind Kotyk.

Airdrie's Olivia DePasquale, a third-year midfielder, got Lethbridge College on the board in the 60th minute.

"The win was huge," explained Peyrow. "It really sets the stage for us in the second half of the season."

Smith, a Bachelor of Commerce student, was named the North Star Sports Queens Player of the Game.

Smith (5)

"Grace has been working hard all season and making some changes as we go. We have been tweaking her performance and how we need her to play in regard to the rest of the team," added Peyrow. "We made some adjustments from yesterday to today and it really showed in her performance for sure. She's very coachable. I have to applaud her – she did very well."

Montanna Rousselle earned the recognition for the Kodiaks.

The second place Red Deer Polytechnic Queens (4-1) will challenge the Olds College Broncos (2-1-1) on Saturday, October 1 at 12 pm on the road.

Peyrow is looking forward to a rematch with the first place SAIT Trojans (5-0-0) on Sunday, October 2 in Calgary.

"We needed a good win like this to get us ready against our upcoming game against SAIT," he added.

The third seed Lethbridge College Kodiaks (3-2-1) will face the Rattlers (0-5-0) in Medicine Hat on Friday, September 30 at 2 pm.