LANGLEY, B.C. – The no. 1 ranked Spartans defeated Saskatchewan 1-0 at the Chase Office Field on Friday. This victory sends TWU to the 2021 Canada West Gold Medal match.
 
Trinity Western (11-0-1) were the first team springing to action as Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.) broke through Saskatchewan's (7-2-3) defensive line. The ball was quickly snatched up by the Huskies fifth-year goalkeeper and reigning U SPORTS P
 
Harvey was up to the task at hand early, streaking down the wing to whip in a beautiful cross to Makenna Dieterich (Langley, B.C in the 6^th minute. Dieterich was unable to put it home, barely steering it wide of the yawning Saskatchewan net.
 
The first marker of the match was found by Harvey, who had nothing but net to shoot at after Harvey whipped in another beautiful cross to put TWU up 1-0 in the 15^th minute.
 
After 15 minutes of soccer dictated by the Spartans, Saskatchewan forward Taneil Gay took matters into her own hands. Gay was able to slither her way around the midfield for a period of time, but couldn't make it past the Canada West All-Star combination of Elizabeth Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) and Tilly James (Vancouver). In accordance with TWU's defensive play, the Spartans continued to press into the Huskies for the remainder of the first half.
 
Gay finally broke past TWU's defensive corps in the 28^th minute. With a chance at a goal, Tilly James slid in the box, cleanly picking the ball from the Huskies forward to give Saskatchewan their first corner of the game.
 
The corner ensued madness as the ball headed towards the net off Jade Homphanh's set piece. Jessica Vance (Coquitlam, B.C.) was able to clear the ball off the goal line, but that wasn't the end of it as two more shots were steered towards Spartans keeper Hannah Miller (Langley, B.C.). The ball nearly made its way into the net, but the Spartans were able to escape a near-goal after a no-nonsense clearance.
 
Saskatchewan continued to press against TWU's back-line to dominate the later stages of the first half, but the Spartans continued to come through in crucial situations, ending the half at a 1-0 advantage for TWU.
 
The second half of soccer started similarly to the first as the Spartans took a stranglehold over the game. Gabi Low (Calgary) was outstanding, spraying passes and dribbling effectively to accelerate a TWU side that had lost control of the match to the Huskies.
 
U of S keeper Jadyn Steinhauer continued to make big saves, keeping the score at 1-0 while the Spartans continued their second half of dominance. The most crucial moment of the match came in the 73^rd minute. Steinhauer dove across her net to stop a nearly certain goal. This save kept Saskatchewan's hopes alive, but the Spartans pressed on to close out the game.

 

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NOTABLE

• Gabi Low came into the match partway through the first half to make a massive difference for the Spartans. Although there is no statistical reflection of this, Low's distribution truly moved the needle in TWU's direction.
• The Spartans will now have a shot at their ninth Canada West gold medal. All nine have been won during the Graham Roxburgh era, which started in 1999.
• With Friday's victory over the Huskies, the Spartans have now secured a spot at the 2021 U SPORTS Championships in Sydney, N.S.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will play in the Canada West Final tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

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.

-TW-