LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western second-year keeper
Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) was outstanding in net for the Spartans making eight saves as the Spartans dropped a hard-fought battle 3-2 to the NCAA Div. I Gonzaga Bulldogs in the final match of the season Saturday afternoon at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C.
The two teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the opening half, and 2-2 with eight minutes to go.
Second-year forward
Luciana Andrews (Coquitlam, B.C.) scored the opening goal for TWU in the 42
nd minute, with second-year midfielder
Emily Watchman scoring in the 77
th minute. Marissa Garcia scored twice for the Bulldogs in the 34
th minute and the 63
rd, with Grace Courter scoring the game-winner in the 82nd minute.
Gonzaga split the keeping duties between Faith Fenwick and Michaela McColum, with both giving up a goal.
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach
Graham Roxburgh
"They are a fantastic team and a great opponent, who are very dangerous in every phase of the game. I thought once we lost a little bit of the nerves of just how quickly we got closed down we started to play a little bit and generated a few half chances. We may have been a little bit lucky to be 1-1 at halftime, but credit to us we kept going. I thought Yaz was outstanding and goal, a great shot-stopper."
"
Sophie Crowther (second-year, midfielder, New Westminster, B.C.) was outstanding and created lots of good half-chances. We had good contributions from everybody. Luciana was really lively and credit to her for scoring her goal. And a great ball by
Mansha Sidhu (first-year, forward, Surrey, B.C.) and Watchman who showed poise with her finish."
"I think the only frustration I have is maybe we probably could have dealt a little bit differently with their goals, but at the same time, they had one or two other clear looks that Yaz made great saves on."
"Disappointed that we were at 2-2 with eight minutes left, and we let it slip. But credit to our girls at the end of a long spring, with players missing for injury. The girls that played today gave a great account of themselves."
NOTABLE
- Gonzaga outshot TWU 10-3 in shots on goal and 16-6 in total shots
- The Bulldogs also had the edge in corner kicks at 7-1.
- Gonzaga outshot TWU 8-2 in the first half, with a 5-2 edge in shots on goal.
- The Spartans are 0-4 lifetime against the Bulldogs.
- This is the first time that Trinity Western has hosted Gonzaga at Chase Office Field.
- TWU ends the spring season at 5-4.
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.
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