The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack suffered their first set back of the Canada West women's soccer exhibition campaign.

The WolfPack met up with the host University of Regina Cougars in the first of three 'friendlies' in the Saskatchewan capital on Thursday (Aug 22).  They fell 3-1.
The loss drops Thompson Rivers' preseason record to three wins and a loss.

The Pack were down 1-0 after the first half.

" A decent performance today in patches," says TRU head coach Mark Pennington. " It was a great opportunity to see another USPORTS team and see where we are in the process. We have to remind ourselves that it is a process, even for me. Its not going to be perfect at this point of the season. It is about sharpening up. It is a process for me to see some of the players in a more competitive environment and how they handle it. A lot of things to take away and learn from."
 
Pennington said a brisk wind made the match more 'scrappy' than both coaches would have liked.  "We were punished three times when we had three lapses in concentration and gifted them a couple of goals. "

He added, " One thing I told the group was we need to be more emotionally and mentally stronger. We did that today getting back into the game after conceding a goal."

"We spent a lot of time this week talking about set pieces and we made it an area of our identity that we want to be clinical from. To score a goal from a set piece was a big positive."
The lone Thompson Rivers goal came off the foot of Camryn Curts (3^rd year, midfield, Courtenay, BC). " I thought she was outstanding today. Her energy level. Her bite." 

Curts ' marker came off a free kick.

Veteran Danielle Robertson (3^rd year, Courtenay, BC) played the first half in the nets for Thompson Rivers while Marissa Young (2^nd year, Calgary, AB)  played the second half.

Pennington also noted the play of Canada West rookie all-star Chantal Gammie (2^nd year, forward, Smithers, BC).  " She was a thorn in the side of them all day," the coach said. " She created all kinds of problems for them all day, especially in the second half.. Barring some saves by their goalkeeper, I really think we could have got something from the game today. Those are the breaks. It is a learning curve at this point and an opportunity to take some lessons and move forward. We now will get ready for the next match tomorrow."
 
The WolfPack will meet the Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday (Aug 23) before ending the tournament and their exhibition season with a match against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday (Aug 24).

Thompson Rivers begins its 2019-20 Canada West regular season on Thursday, September 5^th in Prince George, BC against the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves.  Their first home match is Friday, September 13trh when they entertain the MacEwan University Griffins on the Warner Rentals field at Hillside Stadium.  That is also the start of the annual 'Alumni' weekend .  Kick off is 5:30 pm and will feature the "Paws and Pints" event where fans can bring in their dogs to see the match at Hillside. They can sit in a special section and partake in adult beverages.  The event is sponsored by Petland, Petcurean and Iron Road Brewery.

All WolfPack regular season matches can be seen via pay-per-view on Canada West TV.