NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Lethbridge Kodiaks' Tyler Bolen (left) and Medicine Hat Rattlers' Mason Antler try to get their head on a corner kick during an Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference men's soccer match at the Snake Pit on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Medicine Hat Rattlers soccer coach Robert Cavicchia got his first taste of the Highway 3 rivalry on Saturday afternoon at the Snake Pit.
Cavicchia says he heard plenty about the ongoing battle between the Rattlers and Lethbridge Kodiaks. Despite dropping a hard-fought 1-0 men’s battle and settling for a scoreless draw on the women’s side, Cavicchia says the matches still had all the makings of a great rivalry.
“I love when there’s a rivalry match. It’s a derby match, right down the street,” said Cavicchia, who joined the Rattlers this season. “Both games we knew were going to be tough matches, going up against two nationally ranked teams. It’s always a fight between us and Lethbridge from what I hear.”
Men’s keeper Joao Batista did all he could to hold his Rattlers in the match with seven saves, but Lethbridge’s Sodiq Adekunle got one past him in the 35th minute and Medicine Hat was unable to respond in the second half.
“The first half was not so good for us. We made some mistakes in the game,” said Rattlers defender Tom Bernhardt. “In the second half it was better, but the Lethbridge team was quicker and doing not as many mistakes as our team.”
Cavicchia added the bad blood between the Rattlers and Kodiaks was certainly on display, but he was proud of the way his players refused to give in to their frustrations on the pitch.
“They’re disciplined, they don’t let things get to them. They were getting hit pretty hard – I won’t say too much about that, but there were some calls that I think we should have got,” he said. “It is what it is. That’s soccer. But I’m really happy with how disciplined they are. They weren’t getting into it.”
Both teams battled the elements in a cold and snowy September afternoon, which Cavicchia says provided a challenge for a handful of new players — but one the team will have to overcome sooner or later.
“It’s definitely tough for some of them, for a few of them that aren’t used to playing in this cold weather. But it’s the same for both teams,” said Cavicchia. “It’s tough for both teams to play in these kind of conditions, and I guess it’s probably going to continue to get colder and colder, so we’ve got to get used to playing like this.”
The loss leaves Medicine Hat sitting third in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference South Division standings with a 3-2-1 record. Both of their losses have been by a 1-0 margin.
Lethbridge keeper Cody Ferguson preserved the clean sheet with one save in the win, pushing the Kodiaks to first in the South with a 5-1-0 record.
On the women’s side, Hat keeper Amanda Oevering helped her squad pick up a crucial point in the standings with 11 saves in a scoreless draw.
Medicine Hat managed just three shots on Kodiaks keeper Micaela Stone in the draw, which leaves the Rattlers at fourth in the South with an even 2-2-2 record. Lethbridge improved to 4-1-1, good enough for second.
“I think both teams fought hard, fought well. I’m happy with the draw on the women’s side,” said Cavicchia, adding both teams sit in a good spot at the halfway point of the regular season. “We’re in the running for the playoffs and that’s the goal – make playoffs. It would be great to finish No. 1, but I’ll be happy if we’re there in the playoffs. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
