University of Saskatchewan Huskies skipper Alyssa D'Agnone has been a unit complete her 4 seasons pinch the women's shot team, pinch her 24 profession goals ranking 3rd all-time successful programme history.
Entering the 2025 Canada West season, however, the striker/winger from Lethbridge, Alta., is emotion a operation of emotions entering her last twelvemonth of eligibility pinch the team.
"It's decidedly bittersweet," said D'Agnone. "It came really fast, it seems for illustration yesterday I was conscionable successful my first year. There's a batch of america fifth-years, truthful we're conscionable trying to make the about of each moment."
D'Agnone is 1 of 7 pending graduates for the Huskies, arsenic they statesman their 2025 run astatine location connected Saturday day against the Mount Royal Cougars.
It will besides beryllium the past creation successful a Huskies azygous for chap striker Marie Kilcher, forwards Tia Lecox and Naleya Kobussen, and defenders Taryn Izsak, Georgina Gannitsos-Clark and Anna Oliver.
They're a group of soon-to-be graduates which prima midfielder Nammi Nguyen said is helping to substance the team's push towards a Canada West title this fall.
"So galore of these elder players are group that I can't ideate the squad without," said Nguyen. "It's going to beryllium truthful weird adjacent twelvemonth without them, truthful we really want to make it count this year."
Along pinch the group of pending graduates, the Huskies this play will spot 10 rookies participate the lineup which caput coach Jerson Barandica said he's encouraged by.
He praised the operation of seasoned activity and youthful power into the lineup complete the people of the Huskies' accumulation schedule.
"We've had an astonishing pre-season," said Barandica. "In my mind, about apt 1 of the champion we've had present successful 10 years arsenic a caput coach. We're conscionable looking guardant to it, we're excited and we can't hold to get started."
Last year, the Huskies were 1 of the apical teams successful the Prairie Division finishing 3rd pinch a 7-2-5 grounds to suffice for playoffs for a 12th consecutive season.
Losing conscionable doubly entering playoffs past year, Barandica is pressing this year's roster to support that aforesaid level of consistency.
"When we get into games we spot that our training has prepared america for that," said Barandica. "A taxable of this twelvemonth is we don't want to emergence to the occasion, we want to autumn to our habits.
"Our habits show each time successful training and it's been a pleasance to coach."
The adjacent measurement for the Huskies successful 2025 will beryllium vaulting backmost into the Canada West's last four, aft bringing location a convention bronze badge pursuing the 2023 campaign.
Ranked sixth successful the conference's pre-season coaches poll, it's a spot the Huskies are aiming to return to and break into contender status.
"We're evidently very good, but we still person that past level to deed and we're still benignant of seen arsenic underdogs," said Nguyen.
"We saw the pools and we're sixth place, which I deliberation is simply a bully spot to be. You don't want excessively overmuch pressure, but we cognize that we could deed overmuch higher."
While the extremity of playing for a Canada West badge is simply a clear driver for the squad successful 2025, D'Agnone is speedy to constituent retired the emergence of talented programs crossed the convention from the UBC Thunderbirds going undefeated en way to a nationalist championship, to the Trinity Western Spartans and Calgary Dinos fielding beardown rosters this fall.
"I deliberation it's really important to judge successful our ability, but not underestimate different teams that we're playing," said D'Agnone. "I deliberation each squad successful this convention is good, truthful we person to show up each time if we want to hit them.
"To beryllium the best, you person to hit the best."
According to Barandica, the extremity will beryllium to equilibrium a belief successful their ain play pinch the truth that challenges are surely to get from different Canada West titans successful 2025.
But he added it starts pinch the civilization the squad has built and the seasoned group wished to put their champion effort guardant earlier the last whistle connected immoderate of their apical stars' collegiate careers.
"I deliberation it starts pinch not being acrophobic to opportunity we want to win," said Barandica. "Having that assurance and that thrust to want to that that last measurement and triumph a [Canada West], we cognize that to triumph you request to beryllium very cleanable pinch the details."
The Huskies will unfastened the 2025 Canada West play astatine 2 p.m. connected Saturday, welcoming the Mount Royal Cougars to Griffiths Stadium, earlier closing retired the play connected Sunday astatine 2:30 p.m. pinch a tilt against the Calgary Dinos.