Graduating seniors come up big as Griffins blank nationally-ranked Dinos for first win of season
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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Team Stats
Calgary
MacEwan University
| Game Statistics | Calgary | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 11 (4) | 5 (2) |
| Saves | 1 | 4 |
| Fouls | 14 | 14 |
| Corner Kicks | 9 | 3 |
| Offsides | 5 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Asked for his favourite memory as a Griffin before his final regular season home game on Sunday against Calgary, Oleksandr Popravka fondly recalled MacEwan's 4-0 win over Lethbridge last season on his 32nd birthday.
Turns out, there's always something special about his annual trip around the sun.
This time, a day before his 33rd birthday, the Griffins goalkeeper made four saves for the second shutout of his career, leading MacEwan to a hard-fought 1-0 triumph over the U SPORTS No. 9 Dinos at Edmonton Scottish.
"Same clean sheet and it's right before my birthday," he said. "Tomorrow's my birthday, so it's a nice gift.
"Two years in a row a clean sheet with my birthday. I like this game."
It's also MacEwan's first victory of the 2025 season as they move to 1-7-3. It may be too late for them to catch a playoff spot as they are eight points behind Lethbridge (3-3-3) for the fourth and final berth in the Prairie Division with three games to play, but it's a big moment for the program, nonetheless.
"It just shows our growth and that we're learning," said Griffins head coach Adam Loga. "We promised ourselves given the circumstances we had earlier in the year with lads bumping on pro and the injuries (we needed to) just control the controllables and get better every week.
"We're showing that. The depth that wasn't depth before now is and it just shows the improvement and buy in from the boys."
Calgary fell to 7-4-0 after losing their second-straight – blanked on their Edmonton weekend road trip – and have tumbled out of top spot in the division, now a point behind Mount Royal (6-1-4), who topped Alberta (5-4-2) 1-0 on Sunday.
On Sunday, the Dinos outshot the Griffins 11-5 (4-2 on goal), but their best chances were stopped by Popravka.
Big early save from graduating senior Oleksandr Popravka!#GriffNation #SeniorDay pic.twitter.com/VzEBEqEhFj
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 28, 2025
In particular, the Ukrainian national had a spectacular reactionary save in the 26th minute when he punched away Efe Udolu-Joshua's rocket from inside the box.
"It was just about reaction," he said. "You can't read, so you just react. I was in good position to save it."
Calgary goalkeeper Hany Shafie's only save was equally impressive as he parried Nicolas Luczkiewicz's 52nd minute rising laser from the top of the area over the bar.
Luczkiewicz, also playing in his final home regular season game on Senior Day, was noticeable all afternoon and got rewarded in the 64th when he played in a brilliant pass to a streaking Felix Guité for the match's only goal. In alone, he blasted it past Shafie, who got a piece, but not enough.
GOAL��
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Soccer (@GriffinsMSOC) September 28, 2025
Tremendous pass through the D by graduating senior Nic Luczkiewicz to a streaking Felix Guité, who blasts it past the keeper to open the scoring for @MacEwanGriffins in the 64th minute!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/n4U0lk1adm
"We knew he'd cause problems up front," said Loga of Luczkiewicz, who normally plays midfield for the Griffins. "We just had to keep him higher, so he was positionally sound.
We wanted to keep him on the field because he's valuable to us. But we need to lighten his load, so he can last the full 90, so that's perfection. He got off the front through to his buddy Felix."
Calgary had multiple free kicks from dangerous areas and took nine corner kicks, but couldn't find a way to beat the Griffins. That's progress for MacEwan, who have been burned multiple times in 2025 on set pieces, most notably conceding off a corner vs. Saskatchewan on the game's final play to turn a win into a tie back on Sept. 6.
"The biggest thing, too, is they're the best set piece team in the league," said Loga of their success against Calgary. "It just shows our growth and improvement. New guys stepping in, having to learn our systems and tactics.
"Kudos to Todd (Van Driel). Todd's our set piece specialist. He couldn't be here today, but he's put in a ton of work in, and he also has his own team at King's (University). So, he's been doing double. Shout out to him because this is just as much his (success) as it was the boys."
M⚽️| RECAP
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) September 28, 2025
Graduating seniors come up big on #SeniorDay as @GriffinsMSOC blanks @USPORTS_Soccer No. 9 @UCDinos 1-0 for their first win of the 2025 season.#GriffNation
STORY➡️https://t.co/BjHc6k8MNB pic.twitter.com/TQRV2NDx6C
Calgary pressed furiously for the equalizer and also caught a huge break when, in a rare moment, a mix-up over how many minutes of extra time there were between the head official and the fourth saw the game end twice. But through it all the Griffins persevered.
Following the match, graduating seniors Popravka, Luczkiewicz, and injured players Chance Carter and Jakob Sievert were celebrated for their contributions to the program.
Griffins graduating seniors Jakob Sievert, Chance Carter, Nicolas Łuczkiewicz and Oleksandr Popravka pose with their teammates after receiving Senior Day gifts on Sunday (Husain Dhooma photo).
Loga said Sievert's leadership paid off in Sunday's victory, even though he couldn't be on the field.
"It looked like the young bucks that were win were a bunch of mini Jakobs out there, battling to the finish," he said of the intensity that Sievert always brings. "I think it put a smile on his face. Some things you don't see every day. It's like when you mow the lawn, it's like 'the lawn's beautiful.' Then it starts to grow and when you come home from work, 'Aw, I've got to mow it again.' You don't see it actually grow, but I think it showed today, through his model behaviour, what the seniors do, what Jakob does, which is great."
The Griffins will be back in action next on Oct. 4 when they visit cross-town rival Alberta (2:15 p.m., Foote Field, Canada West TV).
