Photo courtesy of Scott Roblin

By Scott Roblin

Hitting Her Stride

VIDEO: Oevering serving as backbone for Rattlers playoff push

Oct 14, 2019 | 3:43 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Amanda Oevering would be the first person to tell you her first year of ACAC goalkeeping hasn’t been the easiest.

But, the Medicine Hat College Rattler women’s soccer player has seemingly found her game as her team chases a playoff berth late in the 2019 season.

One of the final additions to the team, Oevering didn’t meet her Rattlers teammates until just days before the team’s season-opening tilt on September 7 against Red Deer College.

“I personally came here the Monday and then we had our first game that Saturday,” said Oevering. “So, very last minute for me, but I don’t regret it at all.”

Oevering has been a big reason why the Rattlers are challenging for the post-season, saving some of her best play for October.

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In four straight games between September 28 and October 12, the Rattlers goalkeeper posted four consecutive clean sheets and helped her squad pick up two wins and two draws.

Oevering’s shutout streak lasted just under 400 minutes, finally ended on Sunday by a goal in the 10^th minute by Lethbridge College’s Haylie Shoults.

“It’s definitely not just me, I have to give a lot of credit there to the defence and the midfields coming back to help,” said Oevering. “It’s definitely a confidence booster, especially going into bigger games.”

Even after allowing five goals against the Kodiaks on Sunday in a 5-1 loss, Oevering still sits seventh in ACAC save percentage (.797%) and eighth in goals against average (1.63).

And her recent strong play is rubbing off on the rest of the team according to head coach Robert Cavicchia.

“She’s really confident which helps the team,” said Cavicchia. “The team feels confident knowing we have her back there. She’s proving it with the saves that she’s making.”

Earning points in four of their last five games, the 4-3-3 Rattlers sit third in the ACAC South Division with 15 points and hold that division’s final playoff spot with two games to go.

Even as she makes the push for the playoffs, Oevering counts herself lucky to still be on the pitch.

That’s because Oevering suffered a concussion in her first game of the season and missed a handful of weeks while she recovered.

“I’m still a little nervous,” said Oevering. “I get a pretty good hit each game and I’m a little bit worried about my head. But so far, so good. It’s nice to see that you can take it as it comes.”

Even though she’s been given a clean bill of health, the worry of re-aggravating her head injury still pops up during games.

Oevering credits her defensive line for helping to ease any of those thoughts.

“They know to shield attackers off of me as I go and get the ball to collect it,” she said. “It’s good to see that I can get back into it, because we were pretty worried in the beginning.”

During Oevering’s shutout streak, Cavicchia added it gave the forwards and midfielders confidence to play a little more aggresively.

“You can take a few more chances,” said Cavicchia. “You can play a little more risky I would say, knowing you’re confident. You don’t want to be too risky because anything can happen. But, when you have that confidence you don’t have to worry about it, you know you have somebody you trust back there to make the big saves when you need her to.”

With two games left before the ACAC championship tournament in Edmonton, the Rattlers will be looking to respond after Sunday’s beat down in Lethbridge.

But confidence is still running high throughout the Rattlers lineup, who say they’re ready for the pressure of next weekend’s do-or-die games.

“Why shouldn’t we go to playoffs?” said Oevering. “I think that’s what we’re telling ourselves. We deserve it, so we have to win the games and get there.”

CHAT Sports spoke to both Oevering and Cavicchia about her shutout streak and the women’s squad push for the post-season.

Rattlers still alive

The playoff hopes of the Rattlers men’s soccer team hang on by a thread, as they earned a much needed single point on Sunday in a 1-1 draw with Lethbridge College.

Forward Abdou Raouf Mohamed scored on a penalty kick in the 53^rd minute for the Rattlers, putting home his 10^th goal of the season to sit tied for third in ACAC scoring. Joao Vitor Duz Batista meanwhile allowed just one goal on eight shots against for MHC.

The draw comes one day after the Rattlers blanked the visiting Ambrose University Lions by a 6-0 count to keep their season alive.

Holding a 4-4-2 record, the Rattlers will need to win both of their final games of the regular season for a shot at a playoff spot.

The biggest weekend of the Rattlers soccer teams’ seasons will get underway on Saturday with road games against the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings before visiting Red Deer College on Sunday.