MACKY SINGH

Laura Beamish

The Keyano Huskies men’s futsal team is returning from Lethbridge with some hardware after winning gold in the ACAC Futsal Championships earlier this month. Winning all five of their games in the tournament, including a 5-0 win over Lakeland to claim the first-place victory, the men took home their sixth championship win since 2010. 

Head coach Macky Singh said he was impressed with the team’s performance. “It’s all the hard work they did over the season and we came together well during the championship,” he said. The team proved to be tough competition for the opposition. On Friday they started off on a high note, winning their first game of the championships against Lakeland 7-3 and their second of the day against The King’s University 4-1. 

Moving on in the tournament, the team continued to dominated, beating SAIT 7-2 and in the semi-finals defeated Lethbridge 8-2. “When you’re the only team that has gone through the entire championships undefeated, it’s always nice,” said Singh. “To finish up with a gold medal is obviously a bonus.” Julio Meirelles and Neto Miguel were named to the all-star teams, while Eduardo Filho was named most valuable player for the ACAC Championships. 

The Keyano Women started off the championship with a 4-4 tie against Olds College, following that up with a 7-2 win against Medicine Hat and a 4-2 win against The King’s University. Although the team didn’t end up in the finals, Singh said he was still happy with how the women played. “I was really excited and over the moon with the performance and the result,” he said. 

Heading into the semi-finals, the Huskies found themselves down a few players, as two players were sick. “It limited the number of players I had, which made it tough, but we battled in the semi-finals,” said Singh. “The women’s team hasn’t done that well in the past and to finish top four undefeated in the pool round was fantastic.” 

The women suffered a 3-2 loss in the semi-finals against Ambrose, sending them to the bronze medal game, where they lost to SAIT 5-1. Blanca Palavecino and Amanda Giebrecht were named to the all-star teams.