LANGLEY, B.C. – The Spartans won their second game in a row on Friday, defeating cross-town rival Fraser Valley 3-0.
 
The Spartans are still undefeated, sporting a record of 2-0-3 in Canada West play.

This highly anticipated match between the cross-town rivals started with physicality and speed. Both sides went hard into challenges, accelerating the pace of the game to a high degree which neutralized possessive aspects of the match.

The first goal of the match came in the 25^th minute as a Tristan Torresan (North Vancouver, B.C.) corner found Mario Banovic (Burnaby, B.C.) in the box. Banovic, a first-year, powered the headed attempt home to go up 1-0.
 
Still, the Spartans could not take full control over the game until the 39^th minute when Jacob Low (Port Moody, B.C.) made a great run through the attacking third, relaying the ball to Soren Di Sabatino (Langley, B.C.) who played a beautiful through-ball to Christian Rossi (Surrey, B.C.). Rossi neatly tucked the ball home, scoring his second in as many games.
 
The final goal of the game was special, as fifth-year Jacob Low couldn't have drawn it better. Low's 53^rd minute free kick was struck 25-yards from goal, bending beautifully around the wall, then landing in the top left corner of the net.
 
Spartans midfielder Brandon Torresan (North Vancouver, B.C.) took a red card in the 81^st minute, giving Fraser Valley a glimmer of hope, but Trinity Western rallied, shifting their style of play to a possessive manner almost instantly.

NOTABLE

• Fourth-year goalkeeper and team captain Sebastian Colyn (Langley, B.C.) was unable to play due to injury. In his place stood first-year second-string keeper, Alex Cordeiro (Burnaby, B.C.). Cordeiro excelled, taking risks at the right times while making timely saves en route to the team's clean sheet.
• Tonight was an excellent display from Jacob Low. The fifth-year acted as a constant threat on Fraser Valley's defensive strategies. Still, Low proved to be too much, playing a major role in two of the three goals scored by Trinity Western.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Mike Shearon
"You expect the game to be a little bit rough when it's a local derby. I thought it was a great game of football tonight. Both teams were good, making an enjoyable match that had a true competitive side to it.
 
"Christian Rossi's goal was fantastic, so was Jacob Low's free kick. We scored in various ways with lots of guys putting in a good effort tonight. Alex Cordeiro deserves a special shout out tonight for the job he did in net.
 
"Fraser Valley has a lot of pride. They're going to come out hard tomorrow. Every night in Canada West is a battle and we need to come out hard tomorrow."
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will face their cross-town rivals, Fraser Valley, again on Saturday at 7:15p.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-