It's been an excellent start to the season for the Quest University Kermodes women's soccer team.
Heading into this weekend's action, the team sat undefeated and became the first Quest sports team to be nationally ranked. The Kermodes found themselves slotted 15th in the weekly Canadian College Athletics Association (CCAA) national rankings and they could find themselves nudged a few spots higher after splitting a pair of games with the fifth-ranked Langara Falcons.
In fact, the Kermodes' stellar start to the season has their magic number of points to clinch a playoff berth set at four. Quest needs only four points in its final six games to make it impossible for Douglas College to catch and advance to the postseason for the second straight year.
Women's head coach Martina Franko said she has high hopes for the team.
"We've played really well to start the season," Franko said. "It's exciting for us but we're not really thinking about our ranking. We have some great players and I definitely think we have a chance to contend."
The team ran its undefeated streak to five games after beating Langara 1-0 on Saturday (Oct. 1) but couldn't seem to solve Langara goalkeeper Loren Lidin on Sunday (Oct. 2).
"She made some great saves," Franko said of Lidin's performance on Sunday. "But I think Langara played really well as a team today. They changed their style of game from Saturday and we just couldn't seem to adjust."
The Kermodes had several chances to get on the board but Langara got on the board early and late to secure the 2-0 victory. According to Franko, it was in stark contrast to Saturday's game.
"Tanner [Batchelor] and Mari [Tarleton] tore apart their defence yesterday but they made some adjustments and managed to stop us," she said. "Both their goalie and their defence played really well today."
Quest's record after four weeks sits at five wins and one loss, good for first place in Group A of the Pacwest Conference. With a total of 15 points in six games, the Kermodes also boast the most points of any team in the Pacwest.
The team will next host Capilano University Blues on Saturday (Oct. 9) and the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners on Sunday (Oct. 10). Both games are scheduled to begin at noon at Quest University field.
For more information on the team, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
