By Larry Read

TRU Sports Information Officer

Kamloops, BC-The University of Fraser Valley Cascades scored two goals four minutes apart in the first half en route to a 3-0 win over the host Thompson Rivers University WolfPack in Canada West women's soccer.The match was played at a very soggy Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, BC on Sunday (Sept 30).

Brittany Zacharuk and Gurneet Dhaliwal powered the Cascades offense with the goals.  UFV went into the Interior and took all six possible points with wins over TRU and UBCO.  Zacharuk had two goals on the day. Jovan Sandhu notched her first 'clean sheet' of the season.

The WolfPack were shutout for the fourth straight match.  Fraser valley moves to 3-2-2. TRU drops to 1-7.

SYNOPSIS

The WolfPack started off with a good chance in the third minute as Abbie Simms (1^st year, midfield, Campbell River, BC) punched the ball from about 40 yards out which Cascades keeper Jovan Sandhu (4^th year, Langley, BC) had to punch over the net. 

In the 7^th minute, Shae Fuoco (2^nd year, Kamloops, BC) stole the ball 20 yards out and drove to the net to force Venuto to scramble for the save.

Danielle Robertson (2^nd year, Courtenay, BC) had her first tough save 11 minutes in as UFV's Harnet Dadrao  (1^st year, forward, Surrey, BC) tested her straight on. 

Simms had another brilliant chance in the 22^nd minute as she raced in to have Sandhu come up and gobble the ball. 

The combo of Brittany Zacharuk and Gurneet Dhaliwal were deadly for Fraser Valley in the first half. They scored goals four minutes a part to give the Cascades a 2-0 half time lead.

TRU had some opportunities to get on the board early in the second half. 52 minutes in, Emily Mann (2^nd year, midfield, Kamloops, BC) got a loose ball in front of the Fraser Valley net but couldn't capitalize.

In the 59^th minute, Zarcharuk made a brilliant cross from the left to Sarah Parker (2^nd year, forward, Surrey, BC) who put it over the TRU cage.

In the 64^th minute, TRU's Marlie Rittinger  (5^th year, Ashcroft, BC)streaked in from midfield and got the shot. Fuoco was right there for the rebound but couldn't put it through. Rittinger started the match on the back line for Thompson Rivers. It was her second match since returning to University soccer.

Zacharuk was the star of the game. She added a second goal in the 74^th minute when she was given a great pass in front of the net to put her team up by three. 

In injury time, the WolfPack had a chance to get on the board. It was Fuoco again but her attempt sailed over the net.

HIGHLIGHTS:   click here

KEY STATS:

Goal scoring:

1.      UFV-39:00 –Brittany Zacharuk (4^th year, midfield) took a through ball from Gurneet Dhaliwal (3^rd year, forward, Surrey, BC) and slid it past a diving Robertson.  Zacharuk's fourth goal of the year.   UFV  1  TRU 0 

2.      UFV: 42:00—Gurneet Dhaliwal  took a left cross from Zacharuk at the center of the goalmouth and one timed it in. Dhaliwal's second goal of the campaign.  UFV  2  TRU 0 

3.       UFV- 74:11—Brittany Zacharuk alone in front of Robertson. She was the recipient of a cross on the right side courtesy of Megan Rose (2^nd year, forward, Chilliwack, BC) for her second of the match and fifth of the season. UFV  3  TRU 0

4.      Shots:   UFV: 6-11:17    TRU:  5-7:12     Corners:  UFV:       TRU:

Fouls:   UFV: 4-6:10   TRU 3-3:6       Saves:  UFV: 4-3:7     TRU: 3-5:8

Keepers:   TRU:   Danielle Robertson (2nd year, Courtenay, BC) (1-5)       UFV: Jovan Sandhu (2^nd year, Surrey, BC) (3-2-1)

RECORDS:

UFV: 3-3-2 (fourth in Pacific Division)        TRU:  1-7  (seventh in Pacific Division)

QUOTES:

TRU head coach Kelly Shantz (3rd season): 

On Match: "It is kind of the same story. We played really really well for some long stretches. Then we lose our way. We lost our way for seven or eight minutes in the first half and we are down 2-0. Then we get down on ourselves. This is a young team thing. But we need to power ourselves out of it. We talked about being positive and working on. Second half we took some chances going forward. We had some good opportunities. Had a bit of a lapse and pulled it out of our net to make it 3-0. We are digging into the second half of the year now and have some chances to make up some ground. We need to fix this. We have to stay positive and keep grinding."

On what will get them over the hump:  " It is experience and making good decisions. Remembering from your last bad decision. I guess it's something that takes more time for others than for some. I think if we get one (a goal) or then get two. The ball isn't even bouncing around for us. It goes off a shin and goes to the defensive team instead of us."

Video of Coach Shantz Interview: click here

TRU defender Cassie Morris (3^rd year, Kamloops,BC):

Better effort out of her squad today than against Trinity on Saturday: "For sure we had our chances. We had some momentum going forward. But we had our lapses where we fell apart on us. They took advantage of that. Its unfortunate we didn't come out of this match with a win or a tie. Overall, I thought we played pretty well."

Video of Morris post game: click here

Fraser Valley head coach Rob Giesbrecht (8^th season):

 On the match:  " Proud of my team. I thought we did well today playing against a much improved TRU side. They are far more dangerous than they have been in the past. We had to be aware. We had to go with the 'bend but not break' mentality for a while. They got behind us quite a bit in the first half and got some set pieces. I thought my girls did very well defending it. Towards the end of the first half we started to click offensively and maintained possession of the ball in the attacking third. It was good to get a couple of goals before the end of the first half. In the second half, we couldn't get the third one until the end.  "

On the combination of Zacharuk and Dhaliwal: " Both fourth year kids. We are a team with very few veterans. Brit and Gurns had a very good weekend. They work hard. They are both very talented players who are attack minded, like to score and set up goals. Great to see them working together."

Video of Coach Giesbrecht Interview:  click here

UP NEXT:

The WolfPack will wrap up their three-match home stand on Thursday (Oct 4) when the UBCO Heat come to town. It's the start of a home and home series between the two schools and is the fourth in the "President's Cup" series.

 Thompson Rivers  and UBCO are tied on the men's side with a win and a tie.   UBCO leads the women's side with a win. This follows a Heat sweep of the WolfPack in cross country this weekend. The Cascades will meet up with the Trinity Western University Spartans on Friday, October 5^th in their next match.

The matches will be webcast  live on a pay per view basis on www.Canadawest.TV.

OF NOTE: 

The McDonald's/TRU Bookstore  "Leader of the Pack" player of the match was: Morris.