VICTORIA, British Columbia – Led by second-year forward Charis Wardrope's (Maple Ridge, B.C.) two goals the Trinity Western Spartans dominated the Victoria Vikes on their way to a 4-1 victory Friday night at Centennial Field in Victoria, B.C. The victory improves the Spartans to 2-1-1, while the loss drops the Vikes to 2-2-0.

Spartan fifth-year keeper Hannah Miller (Langley, B.C.) made six saves to earn her second win of the season, while the Vikes Kayley Lidstone made seven saves in the loss.

AS IT HAPPENED
Wardrope opened the scoring with her first of the match in the 21^st minute to put TWU up 1-0, four minutes after she was fouled in the box and TWU missed their PK attempt.

Second-year forward Sophie Crowther (New Westminster, B.C.) got her fourth of the season to make it 2-0 for the Spartans in the 30^th minute, to give TWU a 2-0 lead going into the half-time break.

Victoria got on the board in the six minutes into the second half. The Vikes Brianne McLeish made it a one-goal game, 2-1, when she scored her first of the season.

Trinity Western rookie forward Mansha Sidhu (Surrey, B.C.) scored her first goal as a Spartan in the 65^th minute as TWU regained their two-goal margin, 3-1.
 
Wardrope clinched the game for Trinity Western in the 81^st when she got her third of the season on a pass from Crowther to make the final 4-1 for the Spartans.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Graham Roxburgh
"I'm super pleased with our efforts tonight, with what could have been a tricky game. We started out pretty even for about 10 minutes, and then settled down. We just started getting more and more possession and good looks into the attacking third. And we were a bit unlucky not to finish on a penalty. But then we responded after that with two or three other great chances and then finally the breaker came when Charis scored an unbelievable goal."
 
"A little bit of a setback in the second half. They came out much stronger than us and generated a goal off of some sloppy defending. Credit to our girls, they kept going at it and generated three or four more good chances and were rewarded"
 
"Really pleased with our work ethic, really pleased with our urgency. I thought we had lots of good things and front-foot corporateness tonight."
 
On Wardrope's first goal of match.
"She deserved a goal like that. She has gotten into the box a number of times but has been unlucky not to finish"
 
On Mansha Sidhu's first Canada West goal.
"I'm super pleased on her first Canada West goal. She's a unique talent and is going to be a very good player."

NOTABLE

• TWU enters this weekend ranked No. 7 in U SPORTS after the first ranking of 2023
• The Spartans outshot the Vikes 15-9 overall and 11-7 in shots on target
• Victoria's Lidstone stopped TWU fourth-year midfielder Sierra Halldorson (Winnipeg, Man.) on a penalty kick in the 16th minute.
• The Spartans also had a 14-5 edge in corner kicks.
• The Spartans are currently 29-18-6 lifetime against the Vikes
• The last time TWU lost to Victoria was 2-1 on October 10, 2018 in Victoria.
• TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh currently has a conference record of Conference 199-51-39.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will now have a day off before they head to Calgary to take on the Mount Royal Cougars on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. (MT) The match can be seen live on Canada West TV.
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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  
 
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