Medicine Hat College Rattlers men win second straight gold at ACAC Futsal Championship

“There was definitely a moment in a season that we had to learn from, and I think we did and those were probably the key moments going into the championship understanding that everybody wanted to play us like it was their final and the biggest game of the season,” he added.

“I think once we got to the championship on day one, we understood what it was gonna take and at the end, it was just the championship mentality and the quality that this team has that pretty much decided their whole outcome of the weekend.”

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The Medicine Hat College Rattlers men’s futsal team defeated the NAIT Ooks in the ACAC Championship final for the second year in a row. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat College Rattlers)

To reach the gold medal game, the Rattlers won two previous games in the tournament.

They started Friday off with a 9-4 win over the Lakeland College Rustlers in the quarterfinals.

On Saturday, The Rattlers defeated the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks 7-2 in the semi-finals.

The Rattlers had come into the tournament as the second seed with a 6-1-1 record, while the Ooks held a 8-1-1 record as the top seed.

Omerovic said that having the team play in front of a packed hometown crowd in the Snake Pit was amazing.

“I’ve been part of the ACAC championships a few years now and hosted by different institutions and everything, but the crowd that our hometown fan base provided there. It was it was truly amazing,” Omerovic said.

“I think every game for both teams women and men’s was packed to the last seat and the noise and everything that was brought it was truly amazing,” he added.

“I think every player and even as a coach, goosebumps all over me just watching at the opposite side of the bench. It was an incredible experience.”

It was the first meeting of the season for the two teams in the gold medal game, and a repeat of the 2025 finals.

NAIT had the top scoring player in the tournament with Jameson Kiezik factoring in on seven goals over the three games. He was followed by four Rattlers players Aleksa Bijelic and Tata Mugisha both with six, Joao Cintra with five, and Joao Nascimento with four.

Omerovic said he was proud of the work that was put in by the team.

“The way we stuck with each other from day one to the last last minute of the season. Just a great group of men that I brought to this city to play at a college level that are hungry to get better, hungry to compete and it’s been a great season,” Omerovic said.

“Definitely some memories that we created that I will remember for the rest of my lifetime.”

The coach adds that the goals is to go for a third straight title next year.

“We do have a pretty strong core coming back. We are losing some players due to eligibility and graduating, but the three-peat. It’s definitely the goal,” Omerovic said.

“Some of these players have been part of here three seasons and they will be going to the fourth year. The mentality is there, at the end of the day it’s going to be up to us,” he added.

“Of course, it’s not going to be easy, but we’ll definitely give it a shot.”

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The Medicine Hat College Rattlers women’s futsal team lost in the bronze medal game to the SAIT Trojans at the ACAC Championship tournament. (Image Credit: Medicine Hat College Rattlers)

The Rattlers women were unable to repeat their bronze medal performance from 2025.

However, they made it to the bronze medal game on Sunday where they lost 7-1 to the SAIT Trojans.

“I think it was more so that we understood from day one we did lose some key players in the regular season of soccer that didn’t get to be a part of futsal, and we knew that it was gonna take work and everything,” Omerovic said.

“The girls I was amazed with the work and the drive that they had from day one to be at our best before we go into the championship, understanding as a host we do get a bye and everybody wasn’t going into the championship just to be there,” he added.

“It was more so can we go there and make some noise and the work and everything that was done. They guess gameplay that we reached as a group. It was incredible with them getting compliments from from other coaches it was great to hear.”

The Rattlers women had a tough bracket coming into the tournament.

“I knew it wasn’t gonna be easy, but we took one game at a time. The first game we handled the way we wanted to handle and then of course we played Concordia,” Omerovic said.

The Concordia team was made up of several players that had represented the team at national soccer championships the past two seasons.

“We knew what we were going against and everything and we had opportunities. It was a very good game, at times maybe should have gone our way I feel. It was just that a bit of luck and almost into the overtime we conceded a goal with a minute and 30 seconds left to lose that game 2-1 to head into the semi-finals of the bronze medal the next day,” Omerovic said.

“We had a very strong performance against TKU. A result of 5-1, played really well.”

In the bronze medal game the coach figures his players had a little bit of fatigue and were also down a key player.

“In losing our goalkeeper that was kind of a key part of our team for most of the season. She had a broken arm in the bronze semi-final game. She couldn’t be a part of the bronze medal game,” Omerovic said..

“Maybe that hurt us a little bit and maybe tired legs and the energy and everything.”

He adds that the team competed with SAIT all season, with a 1-1 tie, and a 4-1 loss earlier in the regular season.

“I was expecting us to come out sharp and but sometimes that’s how a game goes,” Omerovic said.

Overall the coach said it was a great season.

“Lots of learning, some of the players they have not played futsal before, and then it was just a joy to see the improvement over the season,” Omerovic said.

“Understanding that someone will be back next year and playing futsal again and at that time will be much more prepared and experienced and everything. We’re looking forward to add some key players next season as well that are gonna contribute,” he added.

“We’ll be back. We’ll be be stronger for sure.”

by Jesse Gill

Medicine Hat College Rattlers men win second straight gold at ACAC Futsal Championship

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