KAMLOOPS – For the first time in program history the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's soccer team has won a playoff game after they took down the UVic Vikes 2-1 on penalty kicks in front of a boisterous crowd inside Hillside Stadium.
 
"My goal coming in here was to change this program into a destination program and we are moving in that direction so I couldn't be prouder of the girls," said WolfPack head coach Mark Pennington.
 
Ainsley Grether scored an 88-minute equalizer for the 'Pack while Caylah Lemon, Hawan Abdissa, Madeline Trozzo and Lydia Keating all scored on their penalty kicks. Marissa Young was heroic in the WolfPack net, making five saves in the game and also stopping a pair of attempts in the shootout.
 
Rheana Desjardins opened the scoring for Victoria with Trinity Kettyls earning an assist. Erin Jensen and Isabella Paccani scored in the shootout while Kayley Lidstone made seven saves during the run of play for the Vikes.
 
Not only was the win the first time that TRU has won a playoff game, but it also broke a streak of ten-straight losses against the Victoria-based squad for the 'Pack. During those ten games TRU had been out-scored 26-0.
 
"This is a history-making moment, our first ever goal against UVic, Ainsley was clutch to put the penalty away," said Pennington. "And then all of our penalties in the shootout were really well executed as well, we worked on them all week."
 
It was the visiting Vikes that dominated the early portions of the game. Young made a pair of early saves but was eventually bested in the 36th minute when Kettyls played a ball into Desjardins who made a great move around her defender and fired a ball perfectly into the corner of the net.
 
Trailing 1-0 at the halftime break and with their season on the line, TRU came out flying to start the second half.
 
Emily Clark and Trozzo combined time-and-time again up front for the 'Pack and Lemon nearly scored from a rocket header in the 83rd minute but the game appeared to be headed the way of the Vikes before everything changed with just four minutes left in regulation.
 
Bridget Baird fought off two defenders in the Vikes penalty box before being hauled down for a penalty kick. Grether made no mistake in stepping up to the spot with all the pressure on her shoulders and hammered the ball into the net to tie the game.
 
"We went 1-0 down to a great goal, so not much we can do about that, but again this group battled back," said Pennington. "I can't be more proud of the heart, the effort and the belief."
 
Lidstone and Young were both excellent in extra time to keep things knotted up at one and send the teams into a shootout.
 
After the two teams traded successful penalties through the first two rounds, Young stole the show.
 
The fourth-year goalkeeper from Calgary stopped back-to-back penalty kicks to seal the victory and send the WolfPack fans storming onto the field to celebrate the historic moment.
 
"The fans were great, the noise and everything was top class and that moment will live with everybody for a very long time," said Pennington. "I was standing here thinking that this is what it's about as player and a coach, these moments where you've got everybody on the edge of their seat and we are just so happy that we could get the win for the fans, the program and the university."
 
With the win TRU advances to the Canada West Quarter-Finals for the first time in program history. They will travel to Calgary next weekend to face a Mount Royal squad that they defeated 2-0 back on September 17.

For the Vikes the loss brings an end to an outstanding season that saw the squad yet again qualify for the Canada West postseason in one of the toughest divisions in the country.