WOMEN'S SOCCER
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014
CANADA WEST REGULAR SEASON
TRINITY WESTERN (1) VICTORIA (0)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
KING TALLIES GAME-WINNER AS TOP RANKED SPARTANS BEAT NO. 4 VICTORIA
LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trinity Western's Jessica King (Liverpool, England) scored the game-winning goal in the 68th minute as the No. 1 Spartans beat No. 4 Victoria Friday at Rogers Field.
After playing a step behind the Vikes for much of the first half, the Spartans turned things around in the second half, with King scoring the game's lone marker as she tallied her ninth goal of the season and her conference-leading fifth game-winner.
Jennifer Castillo (Surrey, B.C.) sent a long ball over top of the back line and connected with a sprinting King. The Spartans striker collected the pass and ripped a shot on net from 15 yards out that deflected off the hands of Victoria goalie Meaghan Storie and just crossed the line. The Vikes tried to clear it off the line, but they were just a split second late.
The Vikes best chances came in the first half, but they were unable to beat third-year keeper Christina Oliverio (Calgary), who, amongst others, made one particularly scintillating kick save on Sarah Douglas from five yards out in the 21st minute. A rebound attempt on goal was blocked by Castillo and that, as it turned out, would be as close as Victoria would get.
The win improved the Spartans winning streak to seven games and kept their unbeaten record intact at 8-0-1. The loss was the first of the season for Victoria as the Vikes fell to 7-1-1.
"It was a good game between two very good teams," said Spartans coach Graham Roxburgh. "I thought Victoria was probably the better team in the first half and Christina bailed us out with that wonderful save. They put us under a lot of pressure early on and generated some good chances. In the second half, I thought we settled down and we started to play and find each other's feet. We put some bodies on the line to push back. In the last five minutes we had a couple of desperation blocks.
"I thought Seina's (Kashima, Burnaby, B.C.) energy and wizardry going at players in the second half made a difference. Krista (Gommeringer, Calgary) didn't get recognized on the score sheet but I thought she was amazing in terms of her intelligence and work rate. Jessica King had a great game and (Vanessa) Kovacs (North Delta, B.C.) was typical Kovacs. But tonight was a corporate win. It's a great result, but we won't get carried away because there's still plenty of work to be done."
Oliverio made six saves to earn her third shutout of the season while Storie made three saves in her first loss of the year.
The Spartans return to the pitch Saturday at Rogers Field when they host UBC at 5 p.m. The Vikes will travel to play Fraser Valley, who tied UBC 0-0 Friday, Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Vikes looked sharp early on, but were unable to find the back of the net despite a variety of chances. Playing in her first game with the Vikes, Abigail Raymer had a strong influence in the first half but was held off the score sheet, despite plenty of possession.
Douglas' 21st minute chance off a scramble in the box looked like a sure goal, but it was Oliverio coming up with arguably her best save as a Spartan.
The Vikes had a 14-6 edge in shots in the opening half and a 5-2 advantage in shots on target.
In the second half, the field tilted in the Spartans favour.
Over the course of the final 45 minutes, a Lindsay Machin shot on target in the 51st minute was the only save the Vikes forced Oliverio to make.
With the Spartans pushing back, Castillo's well-struck long ball sprung King and the Spartans leading scorer converted.
Victoria pressed late but, despite a few bouncing balls in the box, was unable to generate much in the way of quality scoring chances.
Game Notes: Victoria finished with a 20-13 edge in shots…the Vikes had a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
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