ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – Led by second-year forward Emmanuel Dan-Adokien's (Calgary, Alta.) two goals, the Trinity Western Spartans rose to the occasion and defeated the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-2 Friday night at Rotary Field in Abbotsford, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 4-6-2, while the loss drops the Cascades to 6-3-3. The Spartans, with a game in hand, are now tied with the UNBC Timberwolves (4-7-2) for fourth spot in Canada West.
 
Fifth-year midfielder Francis Powell (Coquitlam, B.C.) scored the game-winner for the Spartans with 14 minutes remaining in the contest. Aidan Fitzgerald and Adam Szymanski scored the two goals for the Cascades.
 
TWU fifth-year keeper Yeshua Silwamba (Maple Ridge, B.C.) made five saves in the Spartans' win, while Fraser Valley's Matheus De Souza made three saves in the Cascades' loss.
 
UP NEXT
TWU and the Cascades will now complete the home-and-home series Saturday evening at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C. Kick off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Mike Shearon, TWU Head Coach
"Super proud of the team tonight. We really had to buckle down once we had the red card and get the win against a very good UFV team, who have done a great job all year. ?A good result for us tonight, and just super proud of every guy that was out there tonight, just how they took care of themselves and figured out a way to win the game. The hard part now is that we have to go again tomorrow night against that same good team."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans came out strong, and before the opening half hit the halfway point, TWU was up 2-0 with back-to-back goals from Dan-Adokien, scoring in the 10th minute and the 21st minute. TWU would finish the half with a 5-4 edge in shots and a 2-0 lead.
 
The second half was even until the 64th minute when the Spartans went down a man from a red card. The Cascades quickly took advantage, with Fitzgerald scoring a minute later to cut the lead in half. Then in the 71st minute, Szymanski tied the game at 2-2. But the Spartans were able to counter with Powell scoring the game winner in the 76th minute and Silwamba keeping the Cascades from finding the back of the TWU net as UFV outshot TWU 7-2 in the half.
 
NOTABLE

• The Cascades outshot the Spartans 11-7 in total shots and 7-6 in shots on goal.
• Fraser Valley had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
• TWU had two yellow cards and one red card, while UFV had three yellow cards.
• Last week the Spartans lost 2-0 to the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds, and 1-0 to the No. 8 Victoria Vikes in Langley, B.C.
• Last week, the Cascades lost 2-1 to the Victoria Vikes and tied UBC 0-0 in Abbotsford, B.C.
• TWU is currently 29-17-9 lifetime against the Cascades.
• The Spartans' last win over the Cascades was1-0 on October 11, 2024, in Abbotsford, B.C.
• Saturday night is senior night for TWU's Kieran Eve, Austin Petri, Kosta Adzic, Adam Hajdecki, Charles Nana, Johnny Grant, Francis Powell, Yeshua Silwamba, and David Saavedra.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 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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