 |  |
Slow start, big finish as Spartans set school record
by Scott Stewart, TWU Sports Info
LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western forward Nikki Wright
(Cloverdale, B.C.) scored her sixth and seventh goals of the season
to give the Spartans a 3-0 victory over the visiting University of
Alberta Pandas Friday night at TWU’s Langley B.C. campus. The
win moves the No. 2 Spartans to 10-1-0, while the loss drops the
Pandas to 6-3-2.
The 10th Canada West victory is a new program record for the
Spartans. Prior to this season the Spartans had hit the nine
conference win mark in four separate seasons: 2008 (9-2-3), 2007
(9-3-2), 2006 (9-4-2) and 2004 (9-2-3).
Alberta-TWU women's soccer boxscore
“I’m delighted to get the win, especially after we came
off of weekend where we didn’t play our best soccer. Tonight
though, especially in the second half, we were dangerous and played
with a lot of energy,” commented TWU head coach Graham
Roxburgh. “The execution was excellent and although there
were some strong individual performances tonight’s win was
definitely a team win.”
The first half was a matter of bend but don’t break for both
teams. Each team made dangerous runs into their opponent’s
end of the field but were unable to find the back of the net. The
half ended with Trinity Western having a five to four edge in shots
and six to four in corner kicks. Each keeper made one save.
The Spartans midfield took control in the second half. They
possessed the ball and made smart passes to their forwards, while
limiting the Pandas opportunities. The result in the second half
was TWU having an 11-3 edge in shots and a 3-0 edge in goals.
“Our midfield is a very talented group. We talk today about
playing together as a unit and our play was excellent as we looked
to be a more cohesive unit,” comment Roxburgh. “In
particular Tessa Meyer (Surrey, B.C.) was fantastic in the midfield
tonight. Her work rate and her decision making in the midfield was
great.”
Wright opened the scoring in the 49th minute. The goal came after
the Spartans forward Alicia Tesan (Vancouver) came in through
traffic on the right side of the box. Tesan hit a hard shot towards
the Pandas far post. Alberta’s Sabina Bullard (Edmonton) made
a great stop but was unable to corral the rebound. Wright came in
hard from the left and hammered the ball into the lower left corner
of the Alberta net.
Wright got her second of the game in the 64th minute on a brilliant
individual effort. TWU midfielder Natalie Boyd (Surrey) hit Wright
just past midfield in full stride. Wright beat the Pandas back line
down the park to go in alone on the Alberta net. Wright came in on
the left and sent the ball past Bullard into the leftside of the
net to give TWU the 2-0 lead.
Forward Daniela Gerig (Fort Langley, B.C.) got into the mix in the
71st minute. Gerig’s goal was almost identical to
Wright’s second. Melissa Mobilio (Coquitlam, B.C.) found
Gerig heading toward the Pandas centre back. Gerig in full stride
accelerated towards the Alberta net where she sent the ball into
the rightside of the net to give Trinity Western the three goal
lead.
TWU keeper Kristen Funk (Calgary) made three saves to record her
eighth win of the season and her sixth shutout, while
Alberta’s Bullard made five saves in the loss. Funk’s
six shutouts tie her for the Canada West lead with Victoria’s
Stephanie Parker.
Alberta’s Amanda Black (Edmonton) led the Pandas with four
shots and was named Player of the Match for Alberta, while Wright
led the Spartans with five shots and was also named Player of the
Match.
Next up for the Spartans are the Saskatchewan Huskies. Match time
at TWU is set for 5:00 p.m. PDT, while the Pandas will now head to
Vancouver to take on the UBC Thunderbirds.
Match Notes
Wright’s seven goals put her in third place in CW in total
goals, trailing only Victoria’s Kendra Flock’s 11 and
UBC’s Janine Frazao’s nine… after a slow start
Wright has scored five goals in the last four matches
