LANGLEY, B.C. – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's soccer team was unable to play spoiler on this night, as they fell by a score of 1-0 to the number-one ranked Trinity Western Spartans in the Canada West semi-final.
With the win, the Spartans punch their ticket into the Canada West Final, as well as a trip to U SPORTS Nationals later this month.
But the Huskies aren't done just yet. They will take the pitch once again tomorrow afternoon in Langley with a chance to join the Spartans at nationals with a win in the bronze-medal game.
Each team awaits the decision of the second semifinal match, which features the MacEwan Griffins and UBC Thunderbirds.
Trinity Western (11-0-1) were the first team springing to action as Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.) broke through Saskatchewan's (7-2-3) defensive line. The ball was quickly snatched up by the Huskies fifth-year goalkeeper and reigning U SPORTS Player of the Week.
Harvey was up to the task at hand early, streaking down the wing to whip in a beautiful cross to Makenna Dieterich (Langley, B.C in the 6th minute. Dieterich was unable to put it home, barely steering it wide of the yawning Saskatchewan net.
The first marker of the match was found by Harvey, who had nothing but net to shoot at after Harvey whipped in another beautiful cross to put TWU up 1-0 in the 15th minute.
After 15 minutes of soccer dictated by the Spartans, Saskatchewan forward Taneil Gay took matters into her own hands. Gay was able to slither her way around the midfield for a period of time, but couldn't make it past the Canada West All-Star combination of Elizabeth Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) and Tilly James (Vancouver). In accordance with TWU's defensive play, the Spartans continued to press into the Huskies for the remainder of the first half.
Gay finally broke past TWU's defensive corps in the 28th minute. With a chance at a goal, Tilly James slid in the box, cleanly picking the ball from the Huskies forward to give Saskatchewan their first corner of the game.
The corner ensued madness as the ball headed towards the net off Jade Homphanh's set piece. Jessica Vance (Coquitlam, B.C.) was able to clear the ball off the goal line, but that wasn't the end of it as two more shots were steered towards Spartans keeper Hannah Miller (Langley, B.C.). The ball nearly made its way into the net, but the Spartans were able to escape a near-goal after a no-nonsense clearance.
Saskatchewan continued to press against TWU's back-line to dominate the later stages of the first half, but the Spartans continued to come through in crucial situations, ending the half at a 1-0 advantage for TWU.
The second half of soccer started similarly to the first as the Spartans took a stranglehold over the game. Gabi Low (Calgary) was outstanding, spraying passes and dribbling effectively to accelerate a TWU side that had lost control of the match to the Huskies.
U of S keeper Jadyn Steinhauer continued to make big saves, keeping the score at 1-0 while the Spartans continued their second half of dominance. The most crucial moment of the match came in the 73rd minute. Steinhauer dove across her net to stop a nearly certain goal. This save kept Saskatchewan's hopes alive, but the Spartans pressed on to close out the game.
