Rattler men ready to host

The Medicine Hat College Rattlers men’s soccer team will welcome the best the province has to offer this weekend for the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference championship tournament, and it all kicks off at noon.

After earning a third place seeding with a 5-2-3 record, the Rattlers will take to the pitch in a cross-divisional quarter-final against the second seed NAIT Ooks (8-2-0). While the teams haven’t met this season, Rattlers forward Rodrigo Tavares has an inside lane on how to approach the game after taking on the Ooks as a member of the Keyano Huskies last season.

“I know how they play. They’re good, but we’re good too so we’ll see what happens,” said Tavares following a pep rally for the team Thursday. “We have a solid defence and I think that helps us to do good on the attacking side of the field but I think our strong point is that we are balanced in all areas.”

Fellow Rattler forward Allan Siwela added they don’t anticipate atlering their plan of attack entering today’s quarter-final. While the Ooks boast a conference-high 42 goals on the season, Siwela says they haven’t met goalkeeper Joao Batista yet.

“He’s done very well. He’s one of the best goalkeepers we have in the league right now,” said Siwela, adding the Rattlers are ready to show NAIT their best. “We’re just primed to play our game. We got here because of playing how we want to play and how we dictate the game. We’re just going to stick to our guns, go out there and give them hell.” Siwela and Tavares agreed they hope home field advantage will provide an Xfactor as they push on for a place in Saturday’s semis, and hopefully a trip to Keyano College in Fort McMurray for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championship. “I think it’s really nice because it’s always nice when you’re playing and you look to the stands and see people you actually know cheering for you,” he said. “It’s an inspiration.” The action continues at 2 p.m. with the tournament’s other quarter-final matchup, between Concordia University of Edmonton (7-3-0) and Lakeland College (7-1-2). The SAIT Trojans (8-2-0) and NAIT Ooks (9-1-0) each earned byes in Saturday’s semifinal round. Championship play kicks off Sunday.