Horns men go 0-2 on the road

The University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s soccer team lost a pair of close games on the road to kick off their season.

The Pronghorns were edged 2-1 by the Saskatoon Huskies during Canada West action Sunday afternoon.

The loss puts the Horns at 0-2 to start the season following a 1-0 setback to the Huskies Saturday.

However, the Horns weren’t lacking for chances as the team looks to add a little finish to those opportunities when they head to Edmonton next weekend.

“I thought we adjusted to things very well throughout the course of both games,” said Pronghorns head coach Randy Bardock. “I thought we created some very good chances, it was just our finishing wasn’t what it needs to be to come away with points on the road. You can’t pass up the opportunities we had in both games.”

On Sunday, the Huskies took a 1-0 lead at the 42:04 mark on an own goal and moved up 2-0 in the second half at the 61:27 mark.

But the Horns didn’t come away empty-handed as Ellis Davies netted an unassisted marker just before the 76-minute mark to cut Saskatoon’s lead to one.

Pronghorns goaltender Matthew Vandervoort made five saves in Sunday’s loss.

In the weekend-opener, the Huskies scored at the 59-minute mark for all the offence they’d need to post the win.

Vandervoort made three saves in the loss.

“We had opportunities to take the lead in each game and we didn’t,” said Bardock. “You only get that so often and we have to make the most of it.”

The Pronghorns remain on the road this weekend as they head to Edmonton for a pair of games.

They face the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday at 2 p.m. and wrap up the weekend Sunday when they take on the MacEwan Griffins at noon.

“I think the guys realized that when we do the things that we emphasize they can play with anyone,” said Bardock. “We just have to clean up a few little things defensively and just be a lot more aggressive and I think we’ll be fine.”

The Horns home-opener is Sept. 7 when the Calgary Dinos visit the University of Lethbridge Community Sports Stadium at 7 p.m.

The Pronghorns women’s team begins their season on the road in two weeks.

They’re in Calgary to face the Mount Royal University Cougars at Sept. 9 and head to Edmonton the next day to take on the Alberta Pandas.

The Pronghorns women host their home-opener Sept. 17 when they welcome the University of Fraser Valley Cascades to town.