Dauphin's Marley Quesnel is having quite the first season of college soccer at ACC in Brandon.
First, the team beat the defending league Champion Brandon Bobcats earlier this season. Then after the team's 2-2 draw against the University of Saint-Boniface on September 23, Marley was named Cougar of the Week.
In that game, she made seven defensive tackles and was tasked with staying on top of the other team's top attackers.
"It's pretty cool to be named the Cougar of the Week," said Quesnel. "I definitely didn't expect it. It's a great accomplishment. We have such a great group of players and coaches. It's just an honour to receive the award and get the chance to play on this team."
Overall Marley and the rest of the Cougars are 2-1-3 in their first six games of the season. That's good enough for nine points that has them in second place.
"I think it's been a really good season for us so far," added Quesnel. "I think we're competing very well and I think we have a good as a chance as anyone to win the league. We just need to keep working really hard and I think this could end up being a very special year."
The only team higher than Marley and Cougars in the standings is the Brandon Bobcats. The two teams won't meet again until October 13 which happens to be ACC's next game. That means with an outright win, Marley and the Cougars would be on top of the standings.
The following day they head to Winnipeg to take on Red River.
"We definitely have to just stick to our game plan and systems," added Quesnel. "We know BU's coming out wanting it just as bad as we do. We just have to work really hard as a group. We know we can beat them, so it's just about going out and getting it done."
According to the Cougars, Marley has become a breakout star for the team this season. Marley knows it's been a successful season, but she also knows there's always room for improvement.
"I have to keep giving a lot of effort on and off the field," said Quesnel. "I'm having a lot of fun out here so I want to keep giving it all I have so it continues being fun."