Broncos Men's Futsal Attend ACAC Championship

To start the tournament and finalize the seeding for the quarterfinals, all teams participated in a round robin where they played two games each. The Broncos’ opening matchup was against reigning champions, the Keyano Huskies. Simon Puddicombe scored early, but Keyano rallied, leading 3-1 at halftime. Olds quickly responded once the second half began and narrowed the lead to 3-2. Despite a strong push and multiple close chances, the Broncos were unable to tie the game, and with 46 seconds left, the Huskies scored once again to finish the game 4-2. 

On Saturday morning, the Broncos played their next round-robin game against MHC, whom they tied in every regular season matchup. The game was a riveting matchup with Broncos athlete Aminja Abbe getting the first point on the board. This was followed by two goals from the Rattlers and a goal apiece from both Oliver Azeredo and Nahson Ranger-Reece,  allowing the Broncos to finish the first half with a 3-2 lead. Starting the second half, Olds player Cade Puddicombe struck on a rebound goal to extend the lead to 4-2. The Rattlers scored within minutes on a free kick to tie the game 4-4. With 18 minutes left, both teams had a defensive battle with neither able to take the lead again. After a strong performance, both teams left with a point towards the tournament. 

Ending the round robin with one loss and one tie resulted in the Broncos facing the host team, Lakeland College, in the quarterfinal game. Not only was the energy high with a full crowd of fans from the home team, but the Broncos eliminated Lakeland from the playoffs last year. Both teams were fired up to start the game and Olds took the lead early with Simon Puddicombe once again earning the first point of the game. The Rustlers tied it with seven minutes left in the half after a steal that led to a 2 on 1 situation. With only minutes left before halftime, Pedro Noschang regained the lead for the Broncos with a successful shot on net.

A physical game, the start of the second half had fouls from both teams and then the Rustlers tied it with 22 minutes left. As the game continued with a 2-2 tie, the Broncos faced more foul trouble including a yellow-card. At the 13:30 mark, Lakeland scored, taking the lead 3-2. The Broncos fought hard for the remainder of the game, working to create opportunities but ultimately did not find success. 

The quarterfinal loss ended the playoff run for the Broncos, but the team remained in Lloydminster to attend the awards banquet on Saturday night. Third-year student-athlete Pedro Noschang was selected for the All-Conference South second team. A talented player and leader on and off the court, this recognition came as no surprise to the Broncos. 

“The team was competitive in every matchup over the weekend,” said Allan Siwela, Olds College Broncos Futsal coach. "We played hard and had some great moments, but we also made a couple of mistakes that our opponents capitalized on and ended up switching the momentum against us. Now it’s about taking those mistakes, learning from them and moving forward to look ahead to next year to make sure we have stronger results.”

Despite a tough finish to the season, the men’s futsal team's hard work throughout the year was reflected in this tournament. Congratulations to all the Broncos athletes and coaches on making it to the ACAC Championships for the third year in a row. The future is bright for the Olds College Broncos men’s futsal program! 

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