LANGLEY, British Columbia – An added-time penalty kick denied the Trinity Western Spartans a win on senior night as the visiting Thompson Rivers WolfPack rallied to a 1-1 draw on Saturday night at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C.
Second-year forward
Tim Pritchard (White Rock, B.C.) gave TWU the lead in the sixth minute, but TRU's Noel Poole converted from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time to earn the visitors a point. The result moves the Spartans to 5-6-3 in Canada West conference play, while the WolfPack sit at 6-6-1.
Pritchard's goal was his second of the season, with first-year forward
Elijah Bean (Edmonton) collecting the assist. Poole's equalizer was his first goal of the campaign.
TWU first-year goalkeeper
Jakob Frank (Delta, B.C.) made six saves, while TRU's Toran Rutherford finished with three. The WolfPack held a 14-10 advantage in total shots and a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.
The draw leaves the Spartans with 18 points from 14 matches, while Thompson Rivers has 19 points from 13. TWU has two regular-season matches remaining, including a return meeting with the WolfPack next Saturday in Kamloops, B.C.
UP NEXT
The Spartans travel to Abbotsford, B.C., to face the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday, October 23, at 2:15 p.m. (PT). TWU then closes its regular season against Thompson Rivers Saturday, October 24, at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops. Both matches can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.
QUOTABLE
Mike Shearon – Trinity Western Head Coach
"The game itself, it obviously, the result stings. I think it would have been deserved to come out with the win, and at the same time, unfortunately, we got the tie. Overall, though, just want to make sure that I recognize and celebrate the guys who have put in a ton of effort with this team; you know, JLO was all over the field today. ?Gaz came in and did a great job. Xander came in and almost created a couple of goals for us at the end, and Keyves was everywhere as well, and it's unfortunate that the result didn't completely go our way today, but we've been talking about fighting for ourselves and fighting to be the best that we can be and everything else, and we've got, for sure, one more weekend in the season and one more week of training to do that. That's what I love about this group. They're a bunch of guys who are willing to fight and willing to try to be the best that they can be. And we'll go down to the end, and we'll see what happens next Friday."
AS IT HAPPENED
Pritchard opened the scoring at 5:34, finishing off an assist from Bean to give the Spartans an early 1-0 lead.
Frank kept TWU in front with four first-half saves, turning aside Lucas Kirnon and Ben Finley before making two stops against TRU leading scorer Kaelin Nguyen. At the other end, Rutherford denied Bean in the 42nd minute and
Marc Huizenga (Vancouver, B.C.) in first-half added time.
The teams each registered six shots in the opening half, with the Spartans taking their one-goal advantage into the break.
TWU looked to extend its lead after halftime, but attempts from
Kieran Eve (Coquitlam, B.C.) and
Garreth Rayner (Johannesburg, South Africa) were blocked before
Jordan Low (Port Moody, B.C.) headed over the net in the 67th minute.
Frank stopped Kirnon again in the 88th minute as the Spartans worked to protect their lead. However, Poole, who entered the match in the 66th minute, converted a penalty in added time to bring the WolfPack level.
Both goalkeepers made further stops before the final whistle, with Rutherford denying
Grant Verhoeven (Surrey, B.C.) and Frank saving a James Rainbird attempt as the teams settled for a draw.
NOTABLE
- Thompson Rivers finished with an 11-7 advantage in corner kicks.
- The Spartans extended their unbeaten home run to five matches, with three wins and two draws.
- TWU recognized graduating players Ellis Hallsor, Jordan Low, Garreth Rayner, Kieran Eve and Xander Roxburgh at its final home regular-season match.
- Roxburgh made his 61st career Canada West appearance.
- TWU remains unbeaten at home against Thompson Rivers in conference play, improving its record in those meetings to 8-0-3.
- The Spartans finished the weekend with four points after defeating UBC Okanagan 1-0 Friday.
- The Spartans currently sit in fifth place in the division and are outside of playoffs, but a successful final weekend against UFV and TRU will push TWU into the final playoff spot.
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 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 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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