Berea Woldeyes
1
Winner Thompson Rivers TRU (0-0-0, 0-0-0)
0
UNBC UNBC (0-0-0, 0-0-0)
Winner
Thompson Rivers TRU
(0-0-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
0
UNBC UNBC
(0-0-0, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Thompson Rivers TRU 0 1 1
UNBC UNBC 0 0 0

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | TRU WolfPack

Saxon’s debut goal, Ursem’s clean sheet send WolfPack to season-opening victory

QUICK FIRE
  • The Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's soccer team started their 2026 campaign off strong Friday night in Prince George, defeating the UNBC Timberwolves by a score of 1-0.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Playing her first ever game for TRU, Auckland, NZ product Hannah Saxon supplied the WolfPack goal. Fourth-year forward Kat Stewart recorded an assist on Saxon's marker while Floor Ursem made nine saves in the WolfPack net to earn the fifth shutout of her TRU career.
  • Johanna Rathke made seven saves in net for UNBC.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The WolfPack came incredibly close to opening the scoring in the opening stages of play. Berea Woldeyes and Allison Hill both had shots on net early and while Rathke dealt with both those attempts, the WolfPack pressure resulted in a penalty shot just after the ten-minute mark when Stewart was brought down in the box. The 'Pack would have to wait a little longer to open their 2026 scoring account however as Rathke was able to make the stop on the penalty shot for her third save in just two minutes.
  • It was UNBC's turn to have the run of play later in the first half and Ursem had to be sharp with five saves in the first half to send the teams into the halftime break knotted up at 0-0.
  • TRU struck almost immediately after the start of the second half. Makenna Ford and Laila Rafou forced a UNBC turnover right after the restart. Ford played the ball over to Stewart who sent a ball to Saxon and from the edge of the 18-yard box the rookie unleashed a thunderous shot past Rathke and into the top corner of the UNBC net.
  • Ursem was called into action four times throughout the remainder of the game, including a crucial stop with just minutes left to play to preserve the win for the WolfPack.

NOTABLE
  • Four players, all in the starting lineup, made their WolfPack debuts in the game.
  • With five shutouts to her name, Ursem is just two behind Danielle Robertson for the most in the program's Canada West history.
  • This was TRU's ninth-straight victory over UNBC.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Mark Pennington)
  • "It was a tough game. This is a tough place to play and UNBC is always a well-organized team, this might be the best I've seen UNBC in a while, and we had to really work hard and grind today. Floor had to make a big save late in the game to secure the three points."
  • "Allison Hill as a rookie played a strong 90 minutes, Hannah Saxon as a rookie scored our goal and fellow rookie Lily Pickell also played a really strong 90 minutes."
  • "There were some nerves with it being the first game of the season. We were missing Esi Lufo so that was obviously different for us, but Joss Olcen worked really hard and Hannah Dhillon came in and worked hard."
  • "It was more of a workmanlike effort than it was a beautiful, flowing performance but that's part of our identity and we showed that we have style of game in our quiver as well."
  • "We were unfortunate not to score more early in the game and then were fortunate to have Floor make a big save late."

UP NEXT
  • The WolfPack will stay out on the road as they now travel to Kelowna to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat Sunday Sept. 6 at noon.
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