(CARSTAIRS) - The Olds College Broncos men's team (1-4-1) got off the schneid on Saturday afternoon, picking up their first win of the season against the Lakeland Rustlers (1-3-2) by a score of 2-1 at Tiny Lafleur Field in Carstairs.
The Broncos managed to find the back of the net first, late in the opening half. The ball found its way to Abiodun Owolabi in the right side of the box where the striker sent a howitzer into the far side of the net, giving the Broncos a 1-0 lead.
The Broncos would add to their lead in the 45th minute on a beautiful soccer play set in motion by Mason Hill. Just inside midfield, Hill made a nice takeaway and sent a well played ball up to Owolabi. The Broncos did a nice job covering the backfield, allowing Hill to move up close to the box where he once again found the ball. A shot on net was at first turned away by keeper Josh Hatzenbuuhler, but a big rebound found the foot of Landon Murphy who found the back of the net to increase the Broncos' lead to 2-0 going into halftime.
Lakeland cut the lead in half in the 57th minute of action. After a foul, Mackenzie Longpre took a free kick from just inside the circle at midfield. Keeper Meirelles knocked the ball down, but Grant Skoretz was left uncovered in front of the net, and easily buried the rebound.
The remaining half hour of action had fans on the edge of their seats, as Lakeland attempted multiple corner kicks and had more than a few good chances to equalize the game. By the time all was said and done, the Broncos narrowly held on and escaped with their first win of the season.
Daniel Ribiero was named player of the game for the winning side after a great performance as a ball carrier and facilitator during the contest. Meanwhile keeper Zach Wagner (who subbed in for the second half) received the honour for Lakeland after making a few big saves.
The Broncos will look to start their first win streak of the year tomorrow afternoon in Carstairs at 2 PM when the Red Deer College Kings come to town. Lakeland will travel south to Calgary to take on Sait, where kickoff is also slated for 2 P.M.
Brendan Stasiewich, Olds College Sports Information