Griffins look to build off strong weekend vs. Calgary teams as they visit Saskatchewan squads

EDMONTON – Their improvement on the pitch was notable to see for fans watching the MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team last weekend.

A big reason why they were able to secure four of a possible six points in back-to-back games against undefeated teams (a 3-2 win over Mount Royal and a 3-3 draw with Calgary) was sharpening their game in all phases of the pitch.

"It was a great weekend," said head coach Dean Cordeiro. "The team's playing really well. We're in good form right now and we just want to keep that going. Mount Royal and U of C are two very good programs, and it was good to see the team step up and elevate their game and their performance this past weekend. 

"We feel like we've been getting better the last little bit. Every game we play, we're playing more of our game and executing our plan within our game model. It was nice to see us, in particular, clicking offensively."

Scoring six goals has them up to 19 in eight games (2.375/game), which is closer to the rate they're accustomed to (they scored at a 2.93 clip last season).

Defensively, particular on set pieces against, remains a work in progress and something they'll be looking to clean up ahead of a road trip to Saskatchewan on Saturday (2 p.m. MT) and Regina on Sunday (12 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV).

"We've got to clean up some things defensively, for sure," said Cordeiro. "That said, these teams have good set pieces, they ran plays and some goals were scored. Sometimes you've got to tip your hat when the opposition scores a good goal on a set piece because sometimes there's not much you can do other than maybe limiting those opportunities. 

"So, some things to work on, for sure, but very happy with where the team's at."

MacEwan will be aiming to catch Mount Royal for second place in the Prairie Division – a spot that would come with a home quarter-final playoff match. They enter the weekend at 5-2-1, three points back of the Cougars (6-1-1), while Calgary (7-0-1) is six points up for top spot. Six regular season games remain for each team.

Saskatchewan (4-4-0) is currently holding onto the final Prairie playoff position, one point ahead of Alberta (3-3-2) and four back of MacEwan, so you know they will be amped up for Saturday's contest.

"Every game is so important in our league," said Cordeiro. "There's so much parity. We're just focusing on bringing our game to Saskatchewan and executing what we need to. If we do that, we'll put ourselves in a good place when that 90 minutes comes up at the end of the game. 

"Sask is a good team, they're behind us in the standings and it's a big game for them. They're playing at home, so it's always tougher when you're on the road. We're going to have to come out and play our best game if we want to get the job done on Saturday."