LANGLEY, B.C. –  On the strength of a stellar showing from goalkeeper Yasmine Pahal and a game-winning goal in penalty kicks off the boot of Emily Watchman, Trinity Western advanced to the Canada West final with a 0-0 (3-2 PK) win over Calgary Thursday at Ken Woods Field. The win sends the 10-time Canada West champion Spartans to the CW gold medal match for the 11th time in the last 13 seasons and also books TWU a ticket to the U SPORTS Championship tournament for the 13th time in the last 14 seasons.

Trailing 2-0 in penalties and with their season on the line, the Spartans rallied. Sophie Crowther and Charis Wardrope – the latter of whom entered the match with just two minutes to play in overtime – found the back of the net, while Pahal made a brilliant diving save to her right and Dinos captain Sofia Digiacomo sailed one over the bar to set up Watchman's decisive kick.

Watchman buried her offering to the bottom right corner to set up a Canada West championship match with UBC for the fourth time in the last five years. TWU will be looking to capture it's third title in five years, having beat the Thunderbirds in both 2021 and 2023. 

The win earns TWU a spot in the national tournament for the 17th time since joining U SPORTS in 2001, with this year's championship hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. 

QUOTABLE 
Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach
"I couldn't be more pleased and proud of our team, regardless of the result of the penalty shootout. Obviously we're delighted we won and we live another day and we're excited that we're in the Canada West final and booked our ticket to nationals, but more importantly, we're delighted to watch our whole program continue to take steps together. Whether it was to come cheer your teammates on or whether it was to get on the field to take a penalty or whether it was to help alleviate some playing time minutes or to go 120 and give everything you had – that's what it means to be a Spartan. I'm so pleased for Yazzie (Pahal). That was an amazing save and she had an amazing performance.

"When I remember this night, I'll remember Charis Wardrobe the most. She has worked so hard to get back from her injury and while she's had limited opportunities to get playing time, we always knew that she would make a difference because the kid scores goals. So tonight, it was her turn to go down in our program history as the servant who stepped on simply to take a penalty. I couldn't be more proud to be the coach of this team."

UP NEXT 
The Spartans will play UBC in the Canada West final Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Ken Woods Field. 

NOTABLE
•    The Spartans lost both of their meetings with UBC this year, falling 1-0 on both occasions. 
•    TWU advanced to the Canada West Final Four with a 1-0 win over the MacEwan Griffins 
•    Calgary advanced to the CW Final after defeating the Victoria Vikes 1-0.
•    The Spartans are 21-8-7 lifetime against the Calgary Dinos. 

AS IT HAPPENED
With the teams unable to find a breakthrough over 120 minutes, the semi-final headed to spot kicks, with Emily Watchman dispatching the decisive penalty to spark jubilant scenes amongst the Spartans players and supporters, securing the 3-2 shootout win.

"I'm not sure my ticker can take much more of that to be honest, especially with the dramatic nature of the shootout," remarked a relieved Graham Roxburgh, Trinity Western head coach. "We've got an amazing keeper…and credit to the kids - Calgary as well - who stepped up. You've got to be brave to take a penalty and all 10 of those kids were brave."

It was a goalless, but entertaining first half, with the best chances falling to the Spartans.

Trinity Western's leading scorer Mansha Sidhu didn't miss by much with a seventh minute curler to the back post. The Spartans came even closer in the 31st minute when Sidhu was played in, but Dinos keeper Lauren Houghton was quickly off her line for a big block. The rebound fell to Sidney Giesbrecht, but her shot went inches past the right post and the game remained scoreless.

Trinity Western had their best chance a minute later when Sophie Crowther sent a dangerous ball across goal, but Holland Stiel failed to connect on the cross with the goal gaping.

Calgary came out strong to start the second half and Brooke Batty headed a corner over in the 52nd minute. Trinity Western came close in the 69th minute when Sidhu sent a cross into the box, which was met well by Crowther but she couldn't get enough power on her shot to trouble Houghton.

The Dinos looked set to grab the opener two minutes later when Isabella Dipalma's brilliant through ball sent Rowyn James in on goal, but with Spartans keeper Yasmine Pahal coming out to narrow the angle, she pulled her shot wide.

If that was a close call for Calgary, they had an even closer one two minutes before the end of normal time as Grace Moore was played in superbly, but she agonizingly put her shot inches past the right post.

The game headed to extra time and it was Calgary who had the chances to win it as the clock ticked over to triple digits.

Liz Orubor had a shot in the 100th minute, which Pahal couldn't hold but no Dinos could get onto the loose ball before the danger was cleared. Pahal then came up with a tremendous acrobatic save to deny Moore in the 116th minute, before Moore fired one narrowly over two minutes later.

Nothing could separate the teams after 120 minutes of soccer and the game headed to penalties.

Trinity Western will now meet UBC Thunderbirds in Friday's final at Ken Woods Field. Kick off is 3:30 p.m. (PT). This will be the fourth time in the last five seasons that the teams have met in the Canada West championship game.

The Calgary Dinos will play the Mount Royal Cougars in Friday's bronze medal match. Kick off for that one is 12:30 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 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 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 CIS 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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