Mark Janzen, Trinity Western University
LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's women's soccer team picked up its fifth straight shutout victory thanks to a 5-0 win over Thompson Rivers Saturday at Chase Office Field.
Seina Kashima (Burnaby, B.C.) scored twice and added an assist to spark the Spartans (6-2-0) to a convincing win.
Amy Gartke (Edmonton) and Rachel Hutchinson (Cloverdale, B.C.) added first-half goals before Danae Derksen (Delta, B.C.) rounded out the scoring in the second half.
Spartans Goalkeeper Christina Oliverio (Calgary) didn't face a single shot in the win.
At the other end of the pitch, TRU goalie Danielle Robertson made five saves on the 10 shots she faced.
TWU has outscored its opposition 15-0 over its last five outings.
Kashima launched TWU's offensive charge early on when she took a pass from Brooklyn Tidder (White Rock, B.C.) and ran nearly half the pitch before cutting inside and slotting home her second goal of the season in the fourth minute.
Gartke doubled TWU's lead in the 10th minute when she took an Aliya Coy (Calgary) cross in the box and struck it past Robertson for her first goal of the season.
In the 27th minute, Hutchinson tallied her team-leading fourth goal of the year, taking a pass from Kathryn Harvey (Coquitlam, B.C.) and beating
Just over two minutes later, Kashima buried a quick low cross from Hutchinson, chipping her offering up top and over the TRU goalkeeper.
With the result well in hand, the Spartans Derksen buried a 63rd-minute marker, whipping a shot off the hands of Robertson and into the top left corner. Kashima had the assist.
TWU finished with a 20-1 edge in total shots.
QUOATABLE
TWU Head Coach Graham Roxburgh
"Any time you win 5-0 on your home field, it feels good. The manner in which we won really pleased me. I thought right from the first whistle, we were on the front foot. The speed was great. We worked really hard on moving the ball and found the right moments to attack and penetrate spaces.
"I think defending starts from the front. It's not just the back four. The back four is obviously getting to know each other a little bit better, but defending starts from the front three. Seina scored two wonderful goals, but if you ask me what pleased me the most, it was her work rate to win the ball back and her work rate to put their defenders under pressure. Rachel did the same and Kat Harvey was good too. Everyone was good. We asked them to be on the front foot for the full 90 minutes and I felt like they did that."
NOTABLE
• TWU had 15 corners to the WolfPack's one.
• TWU is now 5-0 all-time against the WolfPack.
• The Spartans outscored their opposition 9-0 over the weekend, including a 4-0 victory over UBC Okanagan.
• The Spartans have now gone 466 minutes without conceding a goal.
• TRU hasn't scored a goal in its last four outings.
UP NEXT
The Spartans take on Fraser Valley next weekend in a home-and-home series, with TWU hosting Oct. 6 before the rematch Oct. 8 in Abbotsford, B.C. TRU will now prepare for a home-and-home series with UBC Okanagan Oct. 5 (in Kelowna, B.C.) and Oct. 7 (in Kamloops, B.C.).
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