Women's Soccer | 9/27/2016 4:32:00 PM

SATURDAY: vs. Lethbridge, 11 a.m., U of R Field
SUNDAY: vs. Calgary, 12 p.m., U of R Field

The University of Regina women's soccer team will return home to the U of R Field this Saturday and Sunday after back-to-back weekends on the road. The Cougars (1-3-2) will play host to the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup against the No. 3-ranked Calgary Dinos at noon on Sunday.

The Cougars were unable to pick up any points last weekend, falling 1-0 in consecutive matches to the Mount Royal Cougars and MacEwan Griffins. Regina's defence has been strong, allowing just four goals through six conference games. Brianna Wright and Karlee Vorrieter are the only Cougar players to find the back of the net so far, each earning one goal. Nikita Senko assisted on both markers.

"We're looking at this weekend as a turn-around point," fifth-year midfielder Kayla McDonald said Tuesday. "We know we can perform better than we did last weekend, and we've played solid defensively all season. We're looking to showcase that this weekend and walk away with a few points."

Lethbridge enters the weekend with a 2-4-0 record, coming off a 2-1 loss to Manitoba and a 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Wesmen. Nikki Furukawa leads the way offensively for the Pronghorns, having racked up four goals and an assist through six games. Kayla Blacquiere is also a threat up front, with two goals and three assists thus far. Paige Gattafoni has seen all the action in net, making 37 saves and posting one shutout in conference play.

Calgary rolls into town with an unblemished 6-0-0 record, after hanging 10 goals on the Wesmen in a shutout victory last Saturday and posting a 3-0 win over Manitoba the following afternoon. Mollee Ramsay leads Canada West with nine goals already, with teammate Jordan Smith right on her heels with eight to her credit. Sophia Traxler has been impressive in goal, notching four shutouts and only allowing two goals against.

McDonald has embraced her role as team captain and is sharing her experience with the younger players.

"We've been focusing on the things that we've been doing well, and making sure our mindset is to continue to do those things while improving on the things we can do better," the Saskatoon product said. "We've been doing a lot of things well in practice, we just have to execute during games."

The Cougars sit in seventh place in a crowded Canada West conference, with the third-place through eighth-place teams all just a point behind the team ahead of them.