Box Score VICTORIA – Trinity Western captain Jenaya Robertson (Delta, B.C.) scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute to give the No. 2-ranked Spartans a 3-2 win over Victoria Saturday at Centennial Field.

After the Spartans (1-0-1) took a 2-0 lead, the Vikes (1-1-0) battled back to even the score line by halftime, setting the stage for Robertson's late-game heroics when she touched in a free kick from midfield past Victoria netminder Puck Louwes.

It appeared as if the defending Canada West champions were going to run away with things early in the first half.

Nicole Bolder (Calgary) was the beneficiary of a Vikes turnover, as she tapped in her first of the season through a couple defenders near the goal in the 16th minute. Slightly more than a minute later, the Vikes couldn't contain a long ball by the Spartans, with the ball bouncing to Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.), who drilled home her first of the season.

The Spartans put on a clinic early in the first half with the ball movement from their midfielders. But after they led 2-0, there was a stoppage in play for an injured player in the 24th minute. From that point on, the Vikes were a different team.

Georgia Bignold got going for the Vikes with some nice passing through the middle, as she found Emma Skalik to set up a scoring chance, but TWU goalie Hannah Miller (Langley, B.C.), who was fresh off a shutout in her season opener, kept the ball out for one of her five saves.

The Vikes broke through in the 39th minute after Trinity Kettyls stole the ball in the Spartans zone. She launched one from outside the 18-yard box, over Miller and into the back of the net.

Less than a minute before halftime, Bignold took a corner and the ball rattled around near the goal line before popping back out to her to the right of the net. She wasted no time and blasted her first of the season.

QUOTABLE
TWU Coach Graham Roxburgh
"I thought it was the best soccer-playing performance we've had in months. I was really happy with how we started and we were rewarded with some good possession and some really dangerous threats. Nicole had a great finish and then Kat Harvey nicely finished her opportunity and, at 2-0, we looked quite comfortable. But after a couple of injuries and a couple of changes, we lost some momentum. Credit to UVIC because they came back and made it into a game. I was really pleased with our character to erase the events of the last part of the first half and to start so well in the second half.

"I couldn't be more pleased for Jenaya to get on the end of really good ball, which was a nice combination play from Harvey to Jenaya. UVIC was stingy and they made life difficult at times, but in the end it was a really good performance. Maddie Melnychuk (Langley, B.C.) was our player of the game. She drove so much defensively in midfield and was able to thwart their attacks and play intelligent passes out. And our back four was also superb tonight."

NOTABLE
•    The Spartans are now 7-1-2 over their last 10 games against Victoria.
•    In their last meeting, Victoria beat the Spartans 2-1 in last year's season finale. Prior to that, TWU had been unbeaten in nine games against the Vikes (7-0-2).
•    TWU is 17-18-3 all-time against Victoria.

NEXT UP
The Spartans head home next weekend to host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen (0-2-0) (Sept. 13) and the University of Manitoba Bisons (Sept. 14).

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.

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