CALGARY – Playing in his hometown for the first time since joining the Spartans, first-year striker Leighton Johnson (Calgary) was the hero of the day, as he scored the game's lone goal to help Trinity Western to a 1-0 win over No. 8 ranked Calgary in the Canada West Quarter-Finals Saturday. The win puts the Spartans in the Canada West Final Four for the first time since 2012.
Johnson volleyed home a corner kick in the third minute and TWU goalie Andrew Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) made eight saves to hold the Dinos off the scoreboard in the Spartans first playoff game in three years.
"Everything, from the weather to their home field, favoured Calgary, but the boys came out and stole the milk off the porch," said Spartans coach Pat Rohla. "You have to give credit to how we defended the front of our net. We were difficult to break down. We got the early goal and had to defend the rest of the way. To everybody's credit, (Calgary) could have got one, but we could have got two. It was really back and forth.
"I thought Brayden Gant (Maple Ridge, B.C.) put in a gigantic shift today. He showed what he was willing to commit to in terms of range on the field and key headers. And what do you say about Andrew Hicks standing up like that and showing that he's one of the top keepers in Canada. From start to finish, I thought everyone put in a good effort in a difficult place to play against a well-coached team."
The Spartans will play Victoria in the Canada West semifinals, which will be played at UBC. The Final Four will feature an all-B.C. contingent as the T-Birds, Vikes and Fraser Valley Cascades all earned wins over their Prairie Division quarter-final foes.
"We get to come back and play Victoria again and maybe the third time's the charm," Rohla said. "We know that they're in great form and they have experience, so it'll be a difficult opponent for sure, but we're ready for the challenge and hopefully we get a good crowd behind us. We're ecstatic and pleased with this win, but we're not finished."
With some early pressure, the Spartans Johnson put TWU on the board when he got on the end of a Mitchell Urzinger (Langley, B.C.) corner at the back post and knocked it home.
The Spartans continued to hold the momentum for the next 10 minutes, winning balls in the air and keeping possession for long stretches.
Gradually, the Dinos began to come back into the game. On 15 minutes, midfielder Cristiano de Carvalho put a shot just wide following a lay-off from forward Dominic Russo.
The next big chance for the Dinos came in the 25th minute. Right back Christian Genee fired a long-distance shot that was heading toward the Spartans' bottom left corner, but TWU keeper Hicks made a diving save.
The Dinos pressed hard as the second half began, desperate to snatch an equalizer. Their best chance of the game came in the 49th minute. Midfielder James Gourlay played in a cross to the back post, but Lindon Fedorik's effort hit off the underside of the cross bar.
A few minutes later, Russo had his best chance to grab a goal. The conference scoring leader picked up the ball on the right side of the Spartans' 18-yard box, but shot wide.
The Spartans almost killed off the game in the 86th minute. Forward Jarvis Ambaka (Maragoli, Kenya) had a chance to score off a break away, but Dinos keeper Colin Hasick rushed out of his net to make a save with his legs.
After a nail-biting end to the game, with almost seven minutes of added time, the whistle finally arrived as TWU completed the upset win.
Saturday is the first home loss of the season for the Dinos, and also the first game the Dinos failed to get on the scoreboard.
The last time TWU was in the playoffs, the Spartans, who have seven players on their roster from Calgary, beat the Dinos in the first round of the Canada West Final Six to earn a spot in the conference semifinals. This is also the third time the Spartans have knocked the Dinos out of the playoffs since 2011.
Game Notes: Calgary had an 11-4 edge in corner kicks and a 19-12 advantage in shots…Calgary's Robin Whittaker and Ryan Doering were shown yellow cards, while TWU's Vito Poletto also saw yellow.
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