VANCOUVER – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's soccer team will have one final shot at booking their ticket to the U SPORTS National Championship after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in extra time to the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West semifinal action.
The WolfPack will now get set for a Canada West bronze medal game against the Calgary Dinos that is slated to get underway at 5 p.m. in Vancouver tomorrow evening. Not only will the winner of that game earn conference hardware, but they will also earn the final CW berth to the National Championship taking place in Laval, QC next week.
Camryn Curts scored for TRU with
Emily Clark picking up an assist. Goalkeeper
Marissa Young made six saves in the contest.
"We just keep showing our heart and character but ultimately came up a little bit short," said WolfPack head coach
Mark Pennington. "We celebrated a 0-0 tie with Trinity earlier in the season talking about it being one of the most monumental results in program history and we've tied them again 1-1 in regulation. I'm really proud of the heart that the group showed again."
Holland Stiel was the hero for the Spartans as her 112th minute goal proved to be the difference between the two sides on a night of wild weather and fierce action.
Charis Wardrope had fired Trinity Western into a first half lead before Curts levelled things up with a second half strike to send the game to an extra 30 that saw the Spartans claim the victory.
It was the 21st minute before either team was able to carve out the first real goalscoring opportunity, with the Spartans' Tilly James nearly getting on the end of a Sierra Halldorson free kick but only to be denied by a point blank stop from Young.
The WolfPack responded with their best chance of the half with a goalmouth scramble that saw Bridget Baird's shot hit off the right post and the Spartans cleared the danger.
Trinity Western started to turn up the heat, led by Wardrope who brought a fantastic full length save out of Young in the 26th minute. Five minutes later she came closer still with a fierce strike that cannoned off the right post and straight back into the arms of Young.
The Spartans leading scorer wasn't to be denied, however, and she fired Trinity Western ahead less than a minute later, with a fantastic finish that gave Young no chance this time.
Thompson Rivers regrouped and closed the half strongly, with Grether's long range effort bringing out a save from Hannah Miller.
The weather took a dramatic turn in the second half as the rain came down in sheets and a strong wind swirled around the stadium, at one point sending the tents covering the wolfpack bench flying across the sideline.
But with the wind at their backs Thompson Rivers tried to take full advantage, dominating possession but failing to find the equalizer.
That all changed in the 66th minute when the WolfPack pounced on a Spartans mistake and as the ball was lofted into the box,
Emily Clark knocked it inside to Curts, who finished with aplomb from just inside the box.
Thompson Rivers kept the pressure on and Grether brought a save out of Miller, but neither side could find the break through and the game headed into extra time.
The WolfPack continued to take the game to the Spartans but couldn't capitalise on their early chances, with their best coming when Clark chased down a long ball forward 12 minutes into extra time, but Miller was out quickly to gather the ball with the WolfPack forward looking set to strike.
The winner came with eight minutes of extra time remaining when Stiel finished from close range after great work from Canada West Rookie of the Year Sophie Crowther, who grabbed her second assist of the evening.
Kickoff for the bronze medal match between the TRU WolfPack and the Calgary Dinos is set for 5:00 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium.
"The whole group didn't stop going the whole time, they all deserve a ton of credit and now we'll regroup, refresh and get ready for tomorrow," said Pennington.
