LFC men come up short against Calgary Villains

A strong finish wasn’t enough to get the LFC men’s soccer team into the win column.

LFC hosted the Calgary Villains Elite FC during Alberta Major Soccer League play Saturday afternoon at the Servus Sports Centre, dropping a close 2-1 decision to fall to 05 on the season.

Kendall Weins handed LFC a 1-0 lead early in the game, but a pair of miscues handed the Villains a 2-1 lead at the half and despite a late Lethbridge push it was enough to allow the visitors to hit the road with the win.

“For us, it was definitely a tale of two halves,” said LFC head coach Sean Carey. “In the first half we weren’t sharp — and the guys would say the same — there were too many giveaways and sometimes at the back we played with the ball too much instead of getting it up the field a little quicker.

“In the second we talked about a few things and I thought we were a new team. We took it to the Villains, we just couldn’t find the finishing touches. So there were a lot of positives to take out of the game for the guys. They showed a lot of character in the second half. We hit a post at the end of the game, which in my mind would have been justice to get a tie. But guys showed a lot of character in the dressing room afterwards. There was a lot of optimism.”

LFC will get a chance for a quick rebound as they head to Calgary Wednesday to take on the Calgary Callies.

Lethbridge is back in Calgary Saturday to face the Calgary Dinosaurs.

Lethbridge had another 2-1 loss the weekend before to the Edmonton Victoria in Edmonton.

“We missed a penalty in that game. Hopefully we can get some breaks in our game against the Callies and get the season kickstarted. It’s unfamiliar territory for the guys to be 0-5,” said Carey.

“It’s a young, new team and we’ve got a few injuries. I’m not making excuses, but it’s going to take a while for them to settle in.”

The LFC women’s team (1-4) are back home Saturday when they host the Calgary Callies at 2 p.m. at the Servus Sports Centre.