LANGLEY, British Columbia – Playing their third match in four days, the Trinity Western Spartans dropped a 2-0 decision to the visiting Simon Fraser Red Leafs in a preseason non-conference match Thursday night at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C.
 
The loss drops the Spartans to 3-3-0 in preseason play.
 
TWU fourth-year keeper Yamine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) played the full 90 for the Spartans; SFU rookie keeper Sofia Piperni (Coquitlam, B.C.) started and played 72 minutes for the Red Leafs, while senior Tyra Gunara (Burnaby, B.C.) played the final 18 minutes for Simon Fraser.

Simon Fraser second-year Dariella Lopez got the lone goal of the opening 45 when she found the far corner of the TWU net in the 39th minute to give the Red Leafs a 1-0 lead at the half.

The Red Leafs made it 2-0 when rookie Camryn Strain got her first goal when she redirected a ball off a corner kick scramble into the lower left corner of the Spartans' net in the 68th minute.

The Spartans had several chances in the opening half and late in the match but couldn't convert in a shutout loss to the Red Leafs.

The Spartans are now 2-1-3 lifetime against the Red Leafs.

QUOTABLE
Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach 
"Really funny, Monday night, we probably won 2-0, and didn't deserve to, and tonight, we've lost 2-0, and probably didn't deserve to. But credit to Simon Fraser; they got one or two chances and were clinical. ?I don't remember Yazi having to make a save, maybe in the second half, when we gift-wrapped a breakaway for them. Yazi made a great save, but I thought we started really well. We were on top of them. They never really crossed the halfway line for the first 20 minutes. ?They came into it a little bit, and it was a good battle, but I was disappointed with our mentality in the second half- not just keeping our composure- and it became a very scrappy game. But we learned a lot tonight, and even though losing sucks, it was a worthwhile exercise."

UP NEXT
TWU will have a day off before hosting the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Saturday at 7 p.m. (PT) at Chase Office Field. The game will air live on Canada West TV. The Spartans open Canada West conference play on Friday, September 4, when they will host the Fraser Valley Cascades.

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 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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