LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans continued their 2024 preseason with a 3-0 win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons Tuesday afternoon at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C. With the win the Spartans improve to 1-2-1 in preseason play.
 
TWU got goals from fifth-year midfielder Maddie Melnychuk (Langley, BC) in the 40', rookie midfielder Sidney Giesbrecht (Chilliwack, B.C.) in the 53', and fifth-year Payton Izsak (Prince Albert, SK) in the 70' for the Spartan win.
 
The Spartans' second-year keeper Harley Olijnek (Winnipeg, MB) kept the clean sheet for Trinity Western with a diving save in the 90th minute on the Falcons forward Nora Patterson.
 
TWU second-year keeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) (61') and Olijnek (Winnipeg, MB) (29') split the match for the Spartans shutout win, while Mercedes Cullen (45') and Landry Schoennauer (45') split the match for the Falcons in the loss.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh
"Really pleased with the corporate effort and I thought our midfielders, no matter who was on the field, played really well. A special moment to see Sidney, after such a long two years out, score that brilliant goal. But overall I thought the way we passed and possessed showed that we can play some nice soccer. Now we will just keep working hard as we get ready for conference play."
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now head to Oregon for two matches. On Friday they will match up with Oregon State at 6 p.m. in Corvallis, OR, then on Saturday, they will play Corban College at 11 a.m. in Corvallis, OR. Trinity Western opens Canada West conference play on Friday, September 6 against the TRU WolfPack. Match time in Kamloops, B.C. is set for 5 p.m. PT.
 
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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