LANGLEY, British Columbia – In what seemed to be a repeat opening half from Friday's win over Fraser Valley, Krista Gommeringer (Calgary) once again started the game off with a goal in the 16th minute, which set the tone for the No. 9 Spartans, as they beat the No. 10 Cascades 5-0 Tuesday at Rogers Field, knocking off for the second time in five days.
The victory improved the Spartans unbeaten streak to nine games and win marked the Spartans most lopsided victory over the UFV since the Cascades joined the CIS. Prior to Tuesday, the Spartans largest margin of victory over the Cascades was on Oct. 20, 2007 when TWU earned a 3-0 win.
After taking a 1-0 lead into halftime, the Spartans (7-1-2) exploded for four second half goals, with Ali Oliverio (Calgary) scoring twice and Vanessa Kovacs (North Delta, B.C.) and Isabella Di Trocchio (Burnaby, B.C.) each adding singles. Oliverio is now tied for the conference lead in goals, with six while Seina Kashima (Burnaby) added two more assists to her season total to also move into a tie for the Canada West lead.
"I'm a bit perplexed to be honest," said Spartans coach Graham Roxburgh. "I thought for large stretches of the game, we didn't play as well as I think we can and yet we won 5-0. I am really pleased with our finishes. I thought Krista was excellent. Whenever the ball came to her something happened. I thought Ali Oliverio came back on and gave us some great life and it was great to have Kovacs back in the lineup. Seina has obviously shown she can go on two or three of those special runs and produce something."
The Spartans now hold sole possession of second place in the West Division and are just two points behind UBC. The Cascades dropped to 6-3-1 on the season are now four points behind TWU.
Spartans goalie Ally Williamson (Langley) made six saves for her fifth shutout of the season while UFV's Kayla Klim made four saves on seven shots before giving way to Emily Harold in the 76th minute, who stopped one of the three shots she faced.
"I don't want to take anything away from UFV," Roxburgh said. "It sounds strange to say that after a game that ended 5-0. That game was a lot closer than what the scoreline reflects. It thought it was a great battle between two teams and to be honest, I thought they could have been up two or three before we went up. Sometimes soccer is a funny game and tonight it was a little bit bizarre."
Gommeringer opened the scoring in the 16th minute when she ripped a screamer from the top of the box into the far left corner.
The Cascades nearly responded in the 18th minute when a Cascades shot weaved through heavy player traffic in the box and was headed for the line before TWU's Lindsey Pulice (Burnaby) was able to clear it off the line and send the ball back out to midfield.
The first half ended with the Spartans holding a 7-3 edge in shots and a one-goal lead.
Four shots on goal from UFV players Monika Levarsky, Brittany Zacharuk and Tristan Corneil almost tied the game within the first 10 minutes of the second half. However, Williamson managed to get her hands on all four.
In the 64th minute, Oliverio connected on a penalty kick to put the Spartans up 2-0 and spark the offence.
In the 70th minute, Kovacs scored from a crossing shot that caught the upper left side of the goal with a convenient assist from Oliverio.
Late in the second half, Kashima blasted up the side of the field and gave a direct pass to Oliverio who once again planted the ball in the net in the 77th minute.
Di Trocchio rounded out the scoring with a goal, which was assisted by Kashima, in the 83rd minute.
The Spartans are back on the pitch Oct. 16-17 when they host Winnipeg and Manitoba. Both games kickoff at 5 p.m.
Fraser Valley is back at home next weekend when they will host Manitoba and Winnipeg Friday and Saturday.
Game Notes: In TWU's five clean sheets this year, the Spartans have outscored their opponents 19-0…UFV had a 16-14 edge in shots…TWU had a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal.
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