SYDNEY, N.S. – Trinity Western opened their run in the 2021 U SPORTS Championships in style, defeating the host side Cape Breton 4-0 at the CBHRC Field on Thursday.
The Spartans looked strong off the bat, pressuring CBU with no relent in their attack while testing CBU keeper Haley Kardas early.
The first instance of a notable chance came in the sixth minute as
Anna Dunn (Edmonton) nearly tucked away a well-placed grounded cross from
Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.). Dunn narrowly overran the cross from Harvey as the Capers escaped a sure-fire goal.
It only took 23 minutes for the Spartans to find the back of the net as
Sierra Halldorson's (Winnipeg) swung in a whipping corner kick. The ball took a bounce off a CBU defender, finding the feet of
Kathryn Harvey who smashed it home.
The Capers almost got the equalizer in the 27th minute. CBU forward Page Allaby intercepted a TWU pass in the defensive box to go in alone on TWU keeper Hannah Miller. Allaby took a hard low shot, but Miller was able to get a right foot on the ball and keep the 1-0 lead.
The Spartans were able to muster up some more chances after Harvey's 1-0 marker in the 23
rd. One of which was a goal scored off another beautifully taken corner by Halldorson, who caught
Elizabeth Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) on a back-post run. Hicks glanced the ball into the back of the net for her fifth goal across all competitions this season.
The Capers came out strong in the second half, holding the Spartans within their territory for the first couple minutes. Although the home side's efforts were valiant, TWU was far too strong to give in.
In the 61st minute Cape Breton's Alliyah Rowe got wide open in the centre of the box, but a slight touch by Millar was enough as ball went off of the left post to keep the Capers off the scoresheet.
The Spartans continued to compile threatening chances while
Elizabeth Hicks,
Tilly James (Vancouver),
Jessica Vance (Coquitlam, B.C.), and
Olivia Kranjcec (Okotoks, Alta.) refused to let up any notable chances for TWU keeper
Hannah Miller (Langley, B.C.).
TWU added two more goals from
Anna Dunn and
Holland Stiel (Okotoks, Alta.), who earned her first goal in a Spartans uniform in Thursday's match. The Spartans went on to cap the game off with an emphatic 4-0 victory, moving on to Saturday's U SPORTS semi-finals.
NOTABLE
- TWU is now 9-3-1 in U SPORTS championship quarter finals.
- The Spartans are now 5-0 lifetime against the Capers at the championship.
- TWU keeper Hannah Miller made five saves to earn the win, while CBU keeper Haley Kardas made 12 saves in the loss.
- The Spartans have won five U SPORTS championships. The last was from a 1-0 victory over Montreal in 2013.
- Players of the Game: CBU Alliyah Rowe, TWU Elizabeth Hicks
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Graham Roxburgh
"There was a ten minute window where they had a little more momentum, and I think the wind played a bit of a factor in that. I thought that we played some intelligent soccer in the second half. We played against a tough wind, so we had to keep the ball on the ground to generate a few chances. We probably could've had one or two more, but we keep a clean sheet. People will remember the goal scorers, but people should not forget
Hannah Miller's contribution early to keep it 1-0. That was a heroic save. Really pleased with our kids. Time to heal up in order to face another opponent in our next game.
"I thought we played really well in terms of trying to keep the ball.
Sierra Halldorson in midfield is our linking player, she used her intelligence to keep the ball in our possession. We knew we were going to get some chances in the channels and I thought we got some really good crosses in. Our front three generated a lot of chances because of their pace and ability to get into wide spots.
Maddie Melnychuk and Grace van den Brink were really strong in the midfield as well.
"Games are weird, so at 3-0 you don't want to let down. If they score you're on your back foot with 10-15 minutes left, so the mindset was that this was going to be a battle of desperation, so we couldn't give them a sniff. We were intelligent in the last 20 minutes in how we corporately defended, but also playing out. It got tricky at 2-0, but a bit of quality shone through at the end.
"Our back four was superb. I told Elizabeth [Hicks] that she was going to score because I think she's a tower of strength and deserves what she has gotten.
Holland Stiel came on in the second half and had lots of intelligent touches, held the ball up, and battled in the midfield. Great corporate win tonight, and I'm pleased with the way they handled the early nerves."
TWU Captain Elizabeth Hicks
"We knew coming in versus the host was going to be a big challenge, so we made it our goal to come out in the first 15 minutes, press high, and be together as a team. Credit to Cape Breton, it was cool to see them out watching.
"Set pieces are something we are very good at, Sierra [Halldorson] takes great corners and we had to be first to the ball.
"It feels great to win, but the biggest thing is focussing on the next game and not dwelling too much on the moment right now, but looking forward to what we can do against our next opponent. Feeling pretty good after the win!"
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now play the winner of Laval Rouge et Or and Western Mustangs, who are matched up in the final quarter final match of the day. The semi-final is set to kick off Saturday at 1:30 p.m. AT at Cape Breton University.
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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