PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The UNBC women's soccer Timberwolves were two minutes away from victory in their season opener.
However, the UBC-Okanagan Heat scored off a free kick in the 88th minute, forcing the Timberwolves to settle for a 1-1 draw in Prince George.
Timberwolves captain Sydney Hall (Prince George, B.C.) drew first blood for UNBC (0-0-1), while Mairi Horth (Ladysmith, B.C.) answered for the Heat (1-0-2).
Neither team established a sustained offensive in the early going, though the Heat typically dominated possession in the attacking third of the Timberwolves end.
However, Jordan Hall (Prince George, B.C.) stood tall in the early going, using her aggression to ensure the game remained scoreless.
Then in the 25th minute, the other Hall twin entered the fray, as Sydney intercepted a UBC-Okanagan clearing attempt, then broke in and fired a shot just out of the reach of Heat keeper Joella Koblischke (Lake Country, B.C.) to give UNBC a 1-0 edge.
UBC-Okanagan tried to press for an equalizer before the first half, but Jordan Hall withstood the pressure in net to take the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The Heat got the first good opportunity of the second half in the 58th minute, though Courtney Hemmerling (Kelowna, B.C.) was offside on the play.
UBC-Okanagan continued to pour on the pressure as the half went on, but still, nothing was going for them.
The Timberwolves had a pair of golden opportunities to potentially ice the game in the final 10 minutes, but a shot from Kaitlin Godsoe (Prince George, B.C.) just missed to the left, while Tianna Rossi (Prince George, B.C.) hurried her shot after a cross, missing wide right.
UNBC got its second wind in the final 10 minutes of the match, but the tide turned with a foul resulting in a free kick for the Heat.
The attempt from Justine Drosdovech (Kelowna, B.C.) bounced around Hall's six-yard box before it found Horth, who made no mistake to square the match and take two valuable points away from the Timberwolves.
UNBC will complete its home opening weekend on Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-1-1) at noon.
The Timberwolves and WolfPack met in exhibition play on August 28, with Thompson Rivers emerging with the 2-1 victory.
Contact Information
Geordie Carragher
Sports Information Officer
University of Northern British Columbia
(250) 960-6009
(778) 349-4977