LANGLEY, B.C. – No. 1-ranked Trinity Western defeated Victoria 1-0 in Saturday's Canada West quarter-final tilt at the Chase Office Field.
 
The Spartans battled with Victoria until the end, which saw Makenna Dieterich (Langley, B.C.) seal the deal for the home side.

The first half started with a bang as Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.) found herself on a breakaway. Having to take the shot off her weak-foot due to defensive pressure, Harvey was unable to get the ball past Vikes goalkeeper Kayley Lidstone, who finished the game with a game-high of eight saves .
 
Harvey's chance got the visiting Vikes moving, as they started to put immense pressure on TWU's defensive group.

The first 45 minutes of play pressed onwards as TWU's Canada West All-Star combination of Elizabeth Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) and Tilly James (Vancouver, B.C.) continued to snuff all chances out, keeping UVIC away from Hannah Miller's (Langley, B.C.) goalmouth at all costs.
 
The second half started slowly, but the Spartans started to take control of the match. The 68^th minute saw Kathryn Harvey nearly curl a shot past Lidstone from 20-yards out. The ball flew over the crossbar by a fine margin, keeping the match at a 0-0 deadlock.
 
Finally, the scoreless tie was broken in the 75^th minute. Sierra Halldorson (Winnipeg) swung in a looping corner kick which found Grace van den Brink (Chilliwack, B.C.) just inside the top-end of the 18-yard box. Van den Brink headed the ball towards the goal to find Makenna Dieterich, who snuck the ball into UVIC's net to put the Spartans up 1-0.
 
The game quickly moved to the midfield after Dietierich's goal as the Spartans did their best to ice the clock. UVIC charged, making numerous attempts to assert a valid attacking chance, but TWU's midfield was strong, winning nearly every 50/50 ball down the stretch.

NOTABLE

• The Spartans have not lost to UVIC at home since 2013. Saturday's win moves TWU's all-time record over the Vikes to 26-18-5.
• Grace van den Brink was a difference maker for the Spartans in Saturday's victory. With the Spartans battling through a series of injuries, van den Brink has stepped up to the plate by creating countless chances for her teammates.
• With this win, the Spartans are now one game away from earning a berth to the 2021 U SPORTS Championships in Sydney, N.S.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Graham Roxburgh
"That is playoff soccer in Canada West. Credit to UVIC, they defended extremely well. We had most of the possession, and we were only vulnerable if they caught us on the counter attack.
 
"Credit to our team, we stayed focussed. I thought the goal was going to come in the last 15 minutes. Sierra (Halldorson) really stepped up, Kat Harvey was lively, Anna Dunn came into the game 20 minutes in. You have to bury your chances and we didn't do that in the first half.
 
"Grace (van den Brink) has come into the starting lineup due to some injuries. She was superb in the way she battled, and raised her game to another level in the way that we know she can. Jessa (Vance) was also great tonight, stepping in at right-back with our current injuries.
 
"I told the girls at the half that we had a 45-minute game against a good opponent, so we had to continue to play our game so the chances will come. I think we deserved the win tonight, but at the same time those are tricky games, so we live to fight another day."

UP NEXT
The Spartans will be hosting this year's Canada West Final Four at the Chase Office Field next weekend.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

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