Edmonton, Alta. – The NAIT Ooks men's and women's soccer teams are heading down to the ACAC Soccer Championships hosted by SAIT this weekend. Both teams have earned first-round byes and will open up their tournaments in the semi-finals on Saturday. 

Men's Soccer

Led by head coach Charles O'Toole, the NAIT Ooks men's soccer team enters the ACAC Championship as the top seed in the north division after finishing with a 9-0-1 record. The Ooks have received a bye to the semi-final match on Saturday where they will face the winner of the Lethbridge College Kodiaks and the Kings Eagles. 

"The team has really jelled this season. With a large number of first years it has been a nice surprise as to how the team has performed this year," said head coach Charles O'Toole 

NAIT has proven to be an offensive powerhouse this season setting new ACAC records for both most goals in a game (15) and most goals in a season (65). The Ooks have had a balanced attack across their roster with six players who have six goals or more, led by Matthew Zima (14) and David Doe (13) who also lead the ACAC.

The Ooks will play their semi-final match at 4:00 pm on Saturday. The game will be live streamed on ACACTV. 

For the full schedule visit - http://www.acac.ab.ca/tournament/msoc/2018-19/index 

Women's Soccer

Led by head coach Carole Holt, the NAIT Ooks women's soccer team enters the ACAC Championship as the top seed in the north division after finishing with a 10-0-0 record. The Ooks have received a bye to the semi-final match on Saturday where they will face the winner of the Red Deer Queens and the Concordia Thunder.

"Our team has really come together nicely this year, we've gotten contributions from both our veteran and rookie players. I'm happy with our performance thus far, but our job is not done, there are a lot of good teams at provincials, and we will have our work cut out for us." 

The Ooks have outscored their opponents 59-3 this season. Kaily Mohn led the ACAC in scoring with 15 goals in 10 games, NAIT had plenty of secondary scoring as Yuri Akatsu and Marissa Webb both scored 10 goals, and Kennedy Hennig added 9. Goal Keeper Toni Burse will be backstopping the high powered squad this weekend, she allowed on three goals this season and also stopped a penalty kick.

The Ooks will be looking to reclaim the title of ACAC Champions this weekend after falling just short to the GPRC Wolves in the finals last season. Before last years silver medal, the Ooks won three straight ACAC Championships.

The Ooks will play their semi-final match at 2:00 pm on Saturday. The game will be live streamed on ACACTV.

For the full schedule visit - http://www.acac.ab.ca/tournament/wsoc/2018-19/index

For further information, please contact:

Sam Nahrgang • Sports Information • (780) 471-7606 • snahrgang@nait.ca