By Scott Roblin

Set pieces shine in Rattlers men’s soccer win over Red Deer

Sep 10, 2017 | 8:38 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Opening their 2017 season at home against the Lakeland College Rustlers on Saturday, the Medicine Hat College Rattlers soccer teams continued their home stand on Sunday afternoon.

Making the trip to the ‘Gas City’ were the Red Deer College Kings and Queens, trying to spoil the home opening weekend for Medicine Hat.

In the men’s game, the Rattlers were still looking for their first victory of the season after reaching a 0-0 draw with Lakeland.

At the 19 minute mark of the first half, Rattlers striker Austin Price shook off a trio of defenders and scored his first of the season to put the home side up early.

On a corner kick seven minutes later, second-year defender Connor Ismond headed the ball into the back of the net for his first career collegiate goal and a 2-0 lead for the Rattlers.

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Ismond said it all went by in a blur.

“In all honesty, I didn’t know I scored,” said Ismond. “I kind of just went up and headed it, it went in, and I smoked the ground and I got up. And, someone was just like standing there, it was pretty cool.”

It remained a 2-0 Medicine Hat lead into the half, with the next major play coming ten minutes into the second half, with Red Deer’s Keeghan Tingley being handed a red card off a hard tackle.

The Rattlers took advantage of the short-handed Red Deer squad, with midfielder Rodrigo Tavares booting one into the back of the net off a free kick in the 86th minute.

Medicine Hat goalkeeper Devin Simon stopped all three shots he faced, as the Rattlers moved to 1-0-1 on the season with a 3-0 shutout victory.

After a lacklustre performance on Saturday, Ismond said it was a great response from the club in their second game of the year.

“It was nice, because [Saturday] we didn’t come away with the win, which we really wanted,” said Ismond. “But, we really took what we did [Saturday] to heart, we wanted to keep control of the game and finish our chances like we didn’t do [Saturday].”

On the women’s side, the Rattlers were hoping to double their win record after dominating Lakeland by a 5-0 final on Saturday.

Hard to think of a better start for Medicine Hat, with midfielder Daragh O’Fuarthain scoring her second goal in as many games, while Jadyn Foote picked up an assist.

The Rattlers took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but noticeably struggled as the opening 45 minutes went along.

Red Deer got their revenge in the 65th minute, as Chelsea Webster knotted the game up at 1-1 and got the Queens back into the contest.

Both teams pushed the pace in the final few minutes of play, but the referee’s whistle blew to signal a 1-1 draw.

Kassidy Suberlak faced eight shots over the course of Sunday afternoon, and made seven saves for the Rattlers.

O’Fuarthain said Medicine Hat took their foot off the gas after going up by one goal early.

“I think we had a lot more energy in the first half, especially in those first few minutes,” said O’Fuarthain. “Once we got that first goal, we just kind of thought we could lay off for a bit. But, they’re a really good team, they put a lot of pressure on us.”

The home stand continues next weekend for the Rattlers’ two soccer teams, as they welcome Lethbridge College to town on Saturday.

The ladies get the festivities going at 12:00 pm, with the men’s match following at 2:00 pm at the ‘Snake Pit.’