The women’s soccer team secured a playoff spot on the weekend for just the third time in program history. Leaving the weekend with a draw and a loss, the WolfPack Women fall into third place and will fight for a home playoff game through the last games of the season.
On Friday night, the WolfPack faced off against the No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on their home turf, just days after a 2-1. However, the ‘Pack netted the first goal that UBC has seen in 25 consecutive games.
Heading into the game, the ‘Pack had already broken a UBC streak and was looking to hand them their first loss in 44 consecutive regular season matches.
The game started with a UBC goal just eight minutes into the game. Floor Ursem, the ‘Packs’ goaltender, went on to face five more shots on net in the first half, but kept it a clean sheet.
In the second half, the WolfPack took control of the play, continuously attacking UBC when they had the ball. In the 70th minute of game play, Makenna Ford sent a corner kick to the far back of the 18-yard box, where Joss Olcen volleyed the ball into the back of the net. Once again, TRU had scored on UBC. Both teams fought for the game-winning goal, but after 90 minutes the game ended in a draw.
The ‘Pack did what no other team could in the last 44 games and forced a point out of the Thunderbirds. In the end, TRU only had two shots in the game, both of which were on goal, while UBC had 22 shots, 12 of which were on Ursem.
“I think the biggest thing we take away from this game is some belief that we can compete with the top teams in the country as we go into a playoff push here. Hopefully they can continue and use this as fuel moving forward,” Head Coach Mark Pennington said in a WolfPack press release.
With one game under their belt, the WolfPack continued their lower-mainland weekend, facing off against Trinity Western next.
Saturday night started with the first half evenly played; the ‘Pack had two shots on net, but none made it past TWU’s keeper. Ursem saved the three shots sent at her. The teams headed into halftime still 0-0.
In the second half, strong shots on net were traded off by the teams but none manifested into any goals. In the 73rd minute, a WolfPack and Spartans player came together for a challenge; however, TWU walked away with a yellow card, and the ‘Pack were given a red card, forcing them to finish out the game with 10 players.
In the 84th minute, the Spartans snuck one past Ursem to get a late lead and eventually win 1-0. Ursem played a strong game, facing seven shots on goal and stopping six of them.
This was just the second loss of the season for the ‘Pack, finishing the weekend 6-2-4 with 22 points, sitting just behind the 7-3-2 Spartans who are in second place. The WolfPack secured a playoff spot, but the battle for second place will come down to the last games of the season. The WolfPack return to Hillside Stadium this weekend when they host UBC Okanagan on Friday, Oct. 23, and then these very same Spartans on Saturday, Oct. 24. Both those games get underway at 5:00 p.m.