SASKATOON, Sask. – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies secured a crucial three points Sunday afternoon (Sept. 28) at Griffiths Stadium after handing the Alberta Pandas a 2-1 road loss.

With the win, the Huskies extend their winning streak to four games and improve to 6-4-0 on the season. More importantly, the program moves four points ahead of the Pandas for the fourth and final playoff position in the Prairie Division with just four games remaining in the 2025 season. The Pandas meanwhile fall to 4-4-2.

Saskatchewan came out with a similar game plan to their victory Saturday against the MacEwan, attack early and often. Despite being rewarded early with a pair of corner kick attempts, the game remained at a scoreless draw through the opening minutes.

In the 25th minute the Huskie attack finally broke through. Cheyenne Lehmann chased down a deep pass from Jenna Steacy, beating a diving Tessa Borrelli to the ball. With possession and just one Panda defender in the area, Lehmann capitalized on the open net, giving the Huskies an early lead.

The score was Lehmann's fourth of the season and third of the weekend, building on a fantastic fourth-year season for the product of Langdon, Alberta.

Just two minutes later the Huskies were back in scoring position as Nammi Nguyen took another corner kick. Nguyen passed to Daraida Sutherland who sent a centering pass which found Madison Mayert who redirected the shot into the back of the net, extending the Saskatchewan advantage.

It was Mayert's third goal of the campaign and tied the third-year forward's single-season career high.

Late in the half, Jenna Steacy produced yet another great scoring chance after taking advantage of her speed but just missed the mark as the shot went outside the Alberta post.

A few minutes later, the Pandas were on the attack. After Huskie keeper Kalin Roberts was unable to get her hands on a centering pass, the ball found Wanda Czebreszuk who made no mistake with Roberts out of position. Czebreszuk went bar-down on the shot attempt, pulling the game to within one with her fourth goal of the season.

As the Huskies looked to re-establish their two-goal lead in the final minutes of the half, the Alberta backline held strong, clearing a pair of corner kicks before halftime.

The second half saw a much more defensive game from both teams, as both recognized the importance of the match in the Canada West standings.

The two most dangerous chances of the second half for either team came from veteran forward Marie Kilcher, who was searching for her third of the season.

In the 49th minute, a great shot was stopped by Alberta keeper Tessa Borrelli who would make five saves in the loss. Then in the 69th minute, Kilcher beat everyone with a high arching shot, but put just a little too much on it as the ball sailed just over the crossbar. 

A late push and corner kick was thwarted by the Huskies in the dying minutes of the match, securing the win and the all-important points in the Canada West standings.

The Huskies continue their stretch of critical matches next weekend when the team heads to Calgary for games against the Calgary (9-0-1) and Mount Royal (8-1-1). Through 10 games this season both the Dinos and Cougars sit ahead of the Dogs in the Prairie Divison standings.