By: Sheldon Appelle, University of Winnipeg Sports Information
WINNIPEG - Third year midfielder Elijah Adekugbe scored the game winning goal in extra time of the second half to give the Trinity Western University Spartans a 2-1 victory over the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on a rainy, windy Sunday afternoon at the Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex in Winnipeg.
Adekugbe took a pass from Leighton Johnson and beat Wesmen goalkeeper Joshua Partaker with a perfect shot to the far corner for game winning goal, breaking a 1-1 tie.
Fifth year defender Taylor Johnson scored the first goal for the Spartans (45+ minute). Fifth year midfielder Krzysztof Szulc scored the lone goal for the Wesmen in the 6th minute.
Trinity Western with the victory improve to 7-2-1 in regular season play. Winnipeg with the loss falls to 1-8-1.
It was a cold, windy day with field position playing a vital key in the contest for both sides.
The hometown Wesmen gained the early advantage scoring the opening goal of the contest. Szulc finished a perfect give and go with William Brown and beat Spartans goalkeeper Andrew Hicks to give Winnipeg an early 1-0 lead just six minutes into the contest.
The Spartans evened the score in extra time of the opening half. Taylor Johnson got his head on a corner kick taken by Adekugbe and beat Partaker to even the contest at 1-1.
After the halftime break, the windy conditions continued with neither team getting any quality scoring chances, but that soon changed. In the 61st minute William Brown beat Hicks with a shot only to ring it off the far post to keep the game tied at 1-1.
The Spartans had a glorious chance of their own in the 82nd minute as Vito Poletto let go a shot headed to the top right corner but Partaker was able to get a hand on it to keep the score deadlocked.
Trinity Western had a wide margin in total shots (18-7). Partaker made six saves in the Wesmen net, Hicks made one save for the Sprtans. The Spartans took eight corner kicks, while Winnipeg attempted four.
The Spartans will be at home next week against Victoria and UBC. Winnipeg will travel to Saskatoon to take on the Huskies on Saturday and Sunday.