WSOC Web
2
Winner Thompson Rivers TRU (2-0-0, 2-0-0)
1
UBCO UBCO (0-2-0, 0-2-0)
Winner
Thompson Rivers TRU
(2-0-0, 2-0-0)
2
Final
1
UBCO UBCO
(0-2-0, 0-2-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Thompson Rivers TRU 2 0 2
UBCO UBCO 0 1 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | TRU WolfPack

Quick-strike WolfPack double up Heat for perfect opening weekend

QUICK FIRE
  • A pair of goals in a two-minute span at the end of the first half was enough to send the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's soccer team to victory in a 2-1 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat Sunday afternoon.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • It was the usual suspects supplying the scoring for TRU with both Esi Lufo and Sara Kuusimaki scoring their first goals of the season. Hannah Saxon and Sophia Branby added assists. Floor Ursem made six saves in net en route to the victory.
  • Megan Sun scored UBCO's goal from the penalty spot with Allyson Ford making five stops for the Heat.

HOW IT HAPPENED
  • There wasn't a whole lot of action around either net in the early going of the game, with Ursem making a smart stop with her foot in the 12th minute to snuff out the only clear chance either team had in the opening 30 minutes of play.
  • That all turned around quickly in the waning moments of the first half. Rookie Allison Hill had the first great chance of the game but her effort towards net was stymied by Ford in the 30th minute.
  • That WolfPack pressure paid off in a big way not long after. With just minutes left to go before the break, TRU opened the scoring through Kuusimaki. Saxon let go a long-range effort that Ford was unable to handle, and Kuusimaki was in the perfect spot to tap in the rebound for her first goal of the season.
  • TRU wasn't content with just one goal heading into the halftime break as Lufo doubled the WolfPack's lead just minutes later in first half stoppage time. Kuusimaki played a ball through to Branby who sent a cross into the six-yard box where Lufo met it and deftly directed it into the back of the net.
  • The WolfPack and Heat traded chances for much of the second half. UBCO was able to pull back one goal from the penalty spot in the 85th minute but a sturdy TRU defence shut the door from there to send the 'Pack to their second-straight win to start the season.

NOTABLE
  • With six points this weekend, TRU has won their first two road games in a Canada West campaign for the second time in program history.
  • This was the WolfPack first victory over UBCO in their last seven meetings.
  • With the win TRU also takes a 1-0 edge over UBCO in the annual Presidents' Cup battle. The Presidents' Cup pits the two Interior rivals against one another in their head-to-head games in soccer, basketball and volleyball with both a women's and men's Presidents' Cup being awarded.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Mark Pennington)
  • "It's the first time we've won here in a few years so it's always nice to get out of here with three points, it's not an easy place to play. UBCO is a very good team, they're well-organized and in my mind one of the best teams in the league in the possession phase of the game."
  • "Credit to the players to dig deep after basically spending 20 hours on the bus in the last couple of days, to be able to put a shift in. We freshened up our lineup because knew we were going to have to get pressure and they stuck to the plan. The gameplan was to actually let UBCO have the ball a little bit and then try to compact spaces to trap them and win in transition, and that's where both the goals came from."
  • "Everybody put a shift in and we were probably a little unlucky not to be up by more at half time. The two goals back-to-back really keyed us up and knocked some fight out of them. I thought their goalkeeper made an outstanding save that not many goalkeepers in this league could make and Allison Hill was unlucky not to score, so if we get greedy we would have liked a couple more goals."
  • "100 per cent I'm happy with the way our back three of Alexis Virgo, Bella Geremia and Lily Pickell played. Lily coming in as a first year has been great and she's going to continue to grow and be a very good player at this level. I though Virgo and Bella were both really solid. Arguably our best player on the day was Sara Kuusimaki. She sprinted back 30 yards to put in a tackle at the back post to save what might have been a sure goal."
  • "When we look at the grand scheme of the league, typically it's us, UVic, UFV and UBCO fighting for a playoff spot, so taking points off our rival on the road is really good. We couldn't have asked for a better start, I'm hoping we are somewhat injury free and then we'll get back at it with a short week before heading to UVic and UFV this coming weekend."

UP NEXT
  • Another weekend on the road is ahead for a WolfPack squad that will play the UVic Vikes on Friday, Sept. 11 in Victoria and the UFV Cascades on Saturday, Sept. 12 in Abbotsford.
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