U of R Sports Information
REGINA - The University of Regina women's soccer team enjoyed a blistering start on a cool day in Regina, but UBC Okanagan put together an impressive comeback in the dying minutes to earn a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon.
Lauren Petras and Kirsten Finley both had early goals to put the Cougars up 2-0 within the first 12 minutes, but goals by Mackenzie Pfoh in the 86th minute and Andrea Stinson in extra time pulled UBCO even.
After a rocky start, UBCO carried momentum for much of the second half, outshooting 13-7 for the match. Five of the Heat shots were on goal while the Cougars countered with three.
The Cougars wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as consecutive corner kicks from Brianna Wright (pictured) resulted in two good chances. After the first ball was cleared away by the Heat, the second cross bounced around before sitting free in the crease for Petras who put it in for her first career goal.
Just four minutes later the Cougars struck again, with a counter attack that went the length of the field. Sydney Langen played the ball well ahead of Finley who was able to track it down and fight off a Heat defender in the UBCO box. Finley gathered control and slid a low shot to the far corner past the diving effort of Francesca Balletta.
UBCO's best chance of the first half came in the 32nd minute when Savannah Williams came out with a sliding challenge to break up a play that would have resulted in a breakaway. The play resulted a long chance for the Heat as Williams was retreating to her goal, but the shot drifted wide of the net.
The Heat had another great scoring chance in the 71st minute as Williams slipped coming out to play a long ball. Maddy Laranjo had an open net from about 20 yards out but Olivia Bolen was able to get in the shooting lane and prevent the sure goal.
UBCO's consistent pressure took 86 minutes to pay off, but it did in a big way. The visitors found their first goal of the match off the foot of Pfoh as she was able to touch the ball around Ashton Lowry and put it home to give the Heat some life.
After a frantic few minutes of injury time, the Heat scored again in dramatic fashion. Stinson sent a cross into the box off a corner kick and the somehow the ball pinballed around and ended up in the Cougar goal. Stinson received credit for her first of the season and the final whistle sounded shortly after as UBCO earned the unlikely draw.
The Heat improve to 0-2-1 with the tie, as the Cougars (0-0-3) pick up their third draw of the season.
The Cougars will play host to Thompson Rivers (0-3-0) on Sunday afternoon while UBCO will head up to Saskatoon to square off against the Huskies.