The Women’s Soccer team made history and secured the first conference medal in program history. The WolfPack left the Canada West Final Four with a silver medal after battling hard against UBC in the medal game.
On Thursday, the WolfPack were set to face off against the UVIC Vikes in the CW semifinals. TRU had the first chances to score, when Esi Lufo almost sent the ball into the net off a header, but it went over the bar.
In the 20th minute, the Vikes scored the first goal of the game. The ‘Pack fought back and 20 minutes later netted one of their own. Lufo earned a free-kick on the edge of the 18-yard box. Hannah Saxon took the shot and curled the ball to the top right corner of the net.
At half, TRU had outshot UVIC 4-3.
The second half saw plenty of action, with both teams looking to break the 1-1 deadlock. Berea Woldeyes had a shot on the Vikes’ goalie, but wasn’t able to make it past her. Floor Ursem made a key save in the 60th minute to keep the game tied. TRU’s best opportunity to take the lead came with 10 minutes remaining when Lufo earned another penalty, but her attempt was stopped. Ursem came up with another crucial save moments later, denying a Vikes player on a breakaway to send the game into extra time. The WolfPack controlled much of the additional 30 minutes but were unable to find a breakthrough, sending the game to a penalty shootout after two overtimes.
Lufo opened the scoring for TRU before UVIC responded, with the Vikes taking a 2-1 advantage after the second round. The Vikes’ goalie made a diving stop to keep them ahead, but Macyn Jolly and Makenna Ford converted their next attempts as the Vikes missed their fourth shot off the crossbar to tie things at 3-3. Sara Kuusimaki stepped up in the fifth round and buried the ball in the back of the net before Ursem made a diving save on UVic’s final shot to clinch the win for the WolfPack and secure a trip to nationals.
“I have no idea what my emotions are right now, they’re all over the place. UVic made us work. They’re a good team. We’ve tied them twice this year and we always knew it was going to be a tough one. I’m just so proud of the group.” Head Coach Mark Pennington said after the win.
On Friday night, the WolfPack prepped to take on the UBC Thunderbirds in the goal medal match. A team they’ve pushed to their limits all year, breaking their shutout records and win streaks; no team had pushed the Thunderbirds harder than the ‘Pack.
The hosts scored just 10 minutes into the game. Seven minutes later, Lufo drew a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and, just like the night before, Lufo found the back of the net on her kick to tie it 1-1. Just before half, UBC found the net once more to take the lead by one.
After the half, the Wolfpack tried to start a comeback, but weren’t able to capitalize on any chances. In the 58th minute of the game, the Thunderbirds scored an insurance goal. leading to what would eventually be the final score of 3-1.
Despite the loss, the WolfPack still made history by securing their first medal in program history. They will also advance to the U SPORTS National as the Canada West number two seed, which will be hosted Nov. 12-15 in Vancouver at UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium.
TRU finished the regular season with a record of 8-2-4. In the playoffs, the WolfPack defeated the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 in a quarter-final and the UVic Vikes 1-1 (4-3 on PKs) to advance all the way to this Canada West title game, and will continue to make more program history at nationals.
With the second place finish the WolfPack secured the second place seed for Canada West, which slots them in at NO. 7 overall at nationals. Their fist game will be the quarter finals against the Montréal Carabins, RSEQ champions, who have the NO. 2 seed overall. The game will be Thursday Nov 12, at 1:30 and take place at Thunderbird Stadium.