The Lakeland College Rustlers women’s soccer team emerged from its opening weekend of the ACAC season with a 1-1 record following a 3-2 victory over the King’s University Eagles on Saturday and a 3-1 loss to the NAIT Ooks on Sunday at VLA Fields.
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Lakeland kicked off its regular-season slate in dominant fashion Saturday afternoon, building a 3-0 lead over the Eagles by halftime.
Courtney Grant led the offense with two goals and an assist, setting up Katelyn Dyck for a fourth-minute breakaway opening goal before scoring on a breakaway in the 19th minute and a chip shot in the 32nd minute.
The Eagles attempted a comeback with goals from Kahlan McDonald in the 38th minute and Saimaa Rawlyk in the 76th, but Lakeland withstood a 31-6 overall shot deficit to secure the 3-2 win.
On Sunday, the Rustlers ran into a potent offence as NAIT scored three times in the opening half.
Gracey Smithson put the Ooks ahead in the 23rd minute before Dyck responded immediately for Lakeland off another setup from Grant to knot the score 1-1. However, a pair of strikes from Ally Martineau in the 29th and 42nd minutes put NAIT up for good.
Goalkeeper Peyton Arnott made nine saves on Sunday for Lakeland, while Carly Speelman turned aside one shot for the Ooks in a scoreless second half.
Following the opening weekend, Lakeland sits at 1-1, King’s drops to 0-1, and NAIT moves to 2-0.
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