Never-say-die Griffins make it interesting with late goals before falling 3-2 to Trinity Western
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 2 | 2 |
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1 | 2 | 3 |
Team Stats
Trinity Western
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Trinity Western |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 7 (3) | 10 (6) |
| Saves | 3 | 1 |
| Fouls | 15 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 2 | 2 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
LANGLEY, B.C. – Set pieces continue to be the Griffins' Achilles' heel, again costing them a result in a 3-2 loss to the Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday night.
MacEwan, so short-handed with injuries that they only had two healthy subs available for the contest, showed incredible fortitude to battle back from 2-0 and 3-1 deficits and had a couple of last gasp attempts on crosses into the box in extra time that nearly went their way.
But there are no moral victories in soccer, unfortunately.
A loss is a loss, and this one – their third straight – comes on the back of an 82nd minute free kick goal against that ultimately cost them a point.
"Obviously, not too pleased conceding that set piece because otherwise again we'd get a result," said Griffins head coach Adam Loga. "But the boys kept pushing and clawing their way back, showing resilience and that never give up attitude. That's positive. It's what coaches want to see."
That's what they have to hang their hat on after falling to 0-5-2 at the halfway point of the regular season. They will have to make up ground in a hurry if they hope to catch one of the four playoff spots in the Canada West Prairie Division.
To do that, the Griffins will need to fix their set piece issue.
"I think it's a mindset thing that we have to reset in terms of the set pieces," said Loga, pointing out a set piece goal against has cost them in four-straight games now. "So, it's not about playing in the run of play that's been the issue, even with the adversity we've had to endure. It's about the set pieces. We need to figure it out. It's kind of been a thing season after season. It's been letting us down."
Alain Sitchet built off his Player of the Game performance against UFV on Friday to be even better for the Griffins on Saturday, finishing with a goal and an assist.
"Alain put together two very good back-to-back matches," said Loga. "We're hopeful and expecting him to continue his momentum into next week and into the rest of the season. We've been looking for a spark up top and he's starting to find his groove a little bit with the goal and an assist today."
After MacEwan fell down 2-0 on Trinity Western goals by Emmanuel Dan-Adokiene in the 24th and Charles Nana in the 59th, Sitchet gave the Griffins some life, scoring in the 70th minute. TWU played the ball back to goalkeeper Peter Rogenthien, who bobbled it in his feet before a charging Sitchet jammed it through his legs and in.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 14, 2025
They don't ask how ...
Alain Sitchet gets rewarded for pressuring the keeper as he puts the @MacEwanGriffins on the board in the 71st minute!
Griffins trailing @TWUSpartans 2-1 late in the contest.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/DfaIIywa9C
The Spartans regained a 3-1 lead on Jace Wiebe's goal off Nana's 82nd free kick, but the Griffins weren't done.
In extra time, Sitchet weaved into the middle of the field after some tight Griffins possession work along the left sideline and uncorked a low blast that went off Rogenthien's fingertips and right to Felix Guité, who potted the rebound.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 14, 2025
Felix Guité pots the rebound off Alain Sitchet's shot to give the @MacEwanGriffins life in extra time.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/SbjWJNT74G
MacEwan had a few more minutes to net the equalizer and came close with a couple dangerous crosses that lingered in traffic inside the area, but they were unable to find the right bounce.
"We had two subs today," said Loga. "The boys competed hard. We've been bitten by the injury bug a bit. Cards are going to rack up when you don't have players in the lineup due to injury because you've got to play everybody 90 minutes. The more minutes you play, the probability goes up that you're going to get a yellow.
"The boys answered the bell in terms of the response from yesterday and following the game plan. They did that very well today and you could see that in the run of play."
MacEwan will kick off the second half of the season at home vs. Thompson Rivers on Sept. 20 (2:30 p.m., Clarke Stadium, Canada West TV).
