CALGARY, Alberta — The Trinity Western Spartans conceded once in each half in a 2-0 loss to the Calgary Dinos on Sunday evening at McMahon Stadium. After falling by the same score at Alberta on Saturday, the Spartans finished their two-match Alberta road trip with a 3-6-1 record. Calgary improved to 7-2-0 with the victory.
Luis Rangel-Kataev opened the scoring for the Dinos in the 10th minute, while Josral Frederick added an insurance goal in the 67th.
First-year goalkeeper
Jakob Frank (Delta, B.C.) made three saves for the Spartans. Calgary goalkeeper Hany Shafie stopped all four shots he faced to earn the clean sheet.
The result marked TWU's first loss in Calgary since Oct. 22, 2006, ending a road unbeaten streak against the Dinos that spanned nearly 20 years.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now head home to host the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Friday, October 2, and the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday, October 3, at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C. Both matches are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Mike Shearon, TWU Head Coach
"Overall, it was an okay game. Two moments again let us down. We talked about the moments that we need to do well in. And when those moments let you down, then it's hard to drag yourself back out. I was proud of the group that, after conceding the first goal, they came back hard at us, and we didn't break. ?They could have really, really taken the game from us. We were down quite a bit, but we didn't break; we fought back and had a few half chances and opportunities to get back in it. There are a couple of other good performances from some guys that we can build off, so that's what we're going to do. We're going to build this week and get ready for Friday and Saturday. Which are big matches for us. We still have hope. We still have a chance, and we're going to battle until the end."
AS IT HAPPENED
Calgary opened the scoring following a corner kick from the right side in the 10th minute. William Omoreniye delivered the ball to the far post, where Milan Ponjevic headed it off the crossbar. Rangel-Kataev met the rebound with a volley and drove it into the TWU net for a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans put all three of their first-half attempts on target, but Shafie turned each one aside. Calgary carried its one-goal advantage into halftime after outshooting TWU 6-3.
TWU generated a dangerous opportunity near the hour mark when
Tim Pritchard found space just outside the six-yard box, but Shafie made the save to preserve Calgary's lead.
The Dinos doubled their advantage in the 67th minute. Efe Udolu-Joshua led a two-on-one attack and found Frederick in space, with the Calgary forward directing his shot inside the far post to make it 2-0.
TWU continued to push forward in search of a response, but the Dinos protected their lead through the closing minutes to secure the shutout.
NOTABLE
- Calgary outshot TWU 12-7 overall and 5-4 in shots on goal.
- The Dinos finished with a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks.
- Frank stopped three of the five shots he faced.
- Trinity Western is now 25-7-10 all-time against Calgary and 15-5-9 in conference play.
- Sunday's result was TWU's first loss in Calgary since a 1-0 defeat on Oct. 22, 2006.
- The Spartans' previous loss to the Dinos was a 1-0 decision in Langley on Oct. 26, 2019.
- TWU fell 2-0 to the Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday at Foote Field in Edmonton.
- Calgary completed a six-point weekend after defeating UBC Okanagan 5-1 on Saturday.
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 and field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes independently in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since joining 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 and holds three Canada Research Chairs. Through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education, TWU offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and adult degree-completion programs that equip leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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