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While the snow fell at Griffiths Stadium this week, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s soccer team has been preparing their best for rain, wind and whatever late October can throw their way.
Huskies head coach Jerson Barandica-Hamilton however, wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Now this is soccer weather ❄️☃️❄️ No such thing as weather delays for @HuskieWSOC as they prepare for their quarter-final game this weekend against Thompson Rivers. @CKOMNews @CJMENews https://t.co/LkOAl5fR0Q
— Scott Roblin (@ScottRoblin) October 28, 2026
“It’s playoff weather,” Barandica-Hamilton said. “It means that we’re still playing. It means that we had a good season, that we have this opportunity.
Luckily for the Huskies, the forecast for their opening game of Canada West playoffs in Kamloops, B.C. is looking sunnier than expected.
That mid-afternoon sun could be the boost the program needs to keep their season alive, as they pay the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack a visit on Saturday in conference quarter-finals.
Very little has separated the Wolfpack, who earned hosting privileges for their second-place finish in the Pacific Division, and the Huskies after they posted an 8-3-3 regular season.
A third-place finish in the Prairie Division doesn’t tell the whole story according to Barandica-Hamilton, with their biggest test of the season on deck.
“I think it’s two on-the-rise, underdog-type programs that are both taking the conference by storm in a way,” Barandica-Hamilton said.
“I think we’ve been very consistent, so I’m excited to see this group just take that next step and try to go win a quarter-final game.”
The Huskies have put together one of their most consistent seasons in recent memory, as they lost back-to-back games just once all season and closed out their conference schedule with three straight wins.
That included 2-0 and 3-0 victories over the Lethbridge Pronghorns last weekend, which leading scorer Isabelle Lachance said has set the table nicely for the start of playoffs.
“We’re really happy with how we ended the season,” Lachance said.
“It’s always nice to end on a high note and getting to play Lethbridge, I know they kind of have similar tendencies to (Thompson Rivers) in certain scenarios.”
The success has come from a youthful Huskies roster which features only two fifth-year players in midfielder Nammi Nguyen and forward Cheyenne Lehmann.
Despite a lot of inexperience in the dressing room, Barandica-Hamilton has been encouraged by the team’s focus and attention to detail, which he added has resulted in wins.
“The football that they’ve played has been very mature,” Barandica-Hamilton said.
“We’re probably playing like a fourth, fifth-year type team, which is very exciting for the future. Honestly, we feel that we can play against anyone. We feel on the day, we can play against anyone and beat anyone.”
Saskatchewan has also been among the conference’s stingiest teams defensively, with just nine goals against in 14 games, which ranks third among Canada West programs.
That’s a major change from previous years, with the bulk of the Huskies’ struggles often coming from their own end of the pitch.
“Even though we only conceded nine goals, I think realistically this team probably only maybe gave up four or five clear-cut chances,” Barandica-Hamilton said.
“It’s not usually part of our DNA, but we’re adding that level of maturity and it’s really exciting.”
University of Saskatchewan Huskies goalkeeper Alyssa Paydli set the program’s single-season clean sheets record last weekend with her seventh shutout of the year. (Electric Umbrella, Huskie Athletics/Submitted)
Second-year goalkeeper Alyssa Paydli has started 11 of Saskatchewan’s 14 games this season, splitting the net with Julie Snider, and has already topped the team’s record books.
With three saves against the Pronghorns on Oct. 24, Paydli registered her seventh clean sheet of the season, setting a new Huskies single-season record.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Paydli said.
“I wouldn’t have guessed I would have gotten to this spot right now. The back line, the rest of the girls have definitely helped me improve to where I am now.”
Paydli wasn’t the only one to record a career milestone last weekend, as Barandica-Hamilton reached 100 combined regular season and playoff wins as Huskies head coach.
“It’s not often that a coach stays with a soccer team so long,” Lachance said. “I think that’s really special that he’s just been part of this group for so long.”
A staple of the Huskies program since his graduation as an all-time great on the men’s soccer team and his hiring in 2014, Barandica-Hamilton said he bleeds green with a group as committed as he is.
“I’m just so lucky and grateful to be surrounded by amazing people that make coming to my job such a joy, but also that allow us to be consistently winning,” Barandica-Hamilton said.
“I think that level of excellence is what we’re after and it’s showing. It’s been an amazing feeling, to be honest.”
Last fall, the Huskies nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history, falling by a narrow 1-0 margin in Canada West quarter-finals to the undefeated UBC Thunderbirds, who eventually went on to win a national silver medal.
That loss gave the Huskies plenty of lessons to chew on all off-season, especially the level required to contend for a Canada West championship.
Paydli feels her group is ready to make that jump and reach conference semifinals, a path which begins on Saturday against Thompson Rivers.
“Last year it was kind of sad that we lost to UBC, we had an older group,” Paydli said.
“Now that we have younger girls, I think everyone brings in different pieces. I think we 100 per cent can be (Thompson Rivers) and make it to the final four, even go to nationals.”
The Huskies (8-3-3) and Wolfpack (8-2-4) will battle for a spot in Canada West semifinals with a 1 p.m. start for the quarter-final game in Kamloops.
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