Four Spartans score to give TWU second win of the season

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans resumed Canada West conference play with a solid 4-2 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat Friday evening at Hillside Stadium in Kelowna, B.C. The win improves the Spartans to 2-1-0, while the loss drops the Heat to 0-2-1.
 
Scoring for the Spartans were third-year forward Mansha Sidhu (Surrey, B.C.), third-year forward Luciana Andrews (Coquitlam, B.C.), second-year midfielder Sidney Giesbrecht (Chilliwack, B.C.), and fourth-year midfielder Kylie Hendricks (Maple Ridge, B.C.). Scoring for the Heat were Abigail Taneda and Annika Gross.
 
TWU third-year keeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) played the full 90 minutes and made six saves in the Spartans' win. UBC Okanagan's Talia Gagnon played the entire match in net and made seven saves in the Heat's loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now head to Kamloops, B.C., to take on the Thompson Rivers WolfPack tomorrow night, September 6. The game can be seen live on Canadawest.tv.
 
QUOTABLE
Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach
"Tonight was a really good road win. Our desire to work corporately paid dividends against a very good UBCO team. I was really pleased with Sophie Crowther's ability to take players on and generate a lot, and her service was outstanding. Our finishes were really good tonight, and that might've been the difference we have to continue to grow and be better in phases of the game when we're in possession, but tonight was a great step forward for a young group that is still learning some of the pressures at this level."
 
"Really pleased for Mansha to get off the mark, and Luciana and Holly put in great shifts. Happy for Sidney Giesbrecht after all that she's been through to score what is now the winning goal, and happy for Kylee to get on the score sheet as she just continues to work super hard and deserved that tonight."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
Fourth-year midfielder Sophie Crowther (New Westminster, B.C.) looked to put the Spartans up in the 20th minute, but her strike from outside the box went off the Heat crossbar and out of touch. The Spartans got on the board in the 30th minute when Crowther went up the left side and centred the ball into the box, where Sidhu one-timed the pass into the back of the Heat's net to put the Spartans up 1-0. TWU struck again three minutes later, with Crowther setting up Andrews in the centre of the box on a free kick. Andrews went up high and beat the Heat defenders to head the ball past Gagnon to put the Spartans up 2-0. The Heat got on the scoresheet in the 36th minute. Caitlyn Chiu sent the ball into the crease, where, after a goalmouth scramble, Taneda put the ball into the Spartans' net to make it a one-goal game with TWU leading 2-1.
 
The Spartans regained their two-goal lead in the 50th minute when Sidhu played a nice give-and-go with a pretty heel pass to Giesbrecht. Giesbrecht took the pass and hit it far post to put TWU up 3-1. Crowther got her second assist of the evening when she found Hendricks near the far post. Hendricks sent the ball vertically into the top short corner to put TWU up 4-1 in the 75th minute. The Heat were awarded a penalty kick in the 83rd minute when Megan Sun was taken down in the box. Gross converted to make it a two-goal game, trailing 4-2 with seven minutes remaining. The Spartans would run out the clock playing in the corner to make the final a two-goal victory.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Heat 19-14 in total shots and 11-8 in shots on goal.
• TWU finished with a 3-2 edge in corner kicks.
• TWU, who are ranked No. 5 nationally, enter this weekend after a pair of 2-0 non-conference losses to NCAA Div. II Seattle Pacific, and Simon Fraser last weekend in Langley, B.C. Before that, the Spartans split their Canada West opening weekend on the road. TWU defeated Victoria 2-1 on Friday in Victoria, B.C., and lost to UBC 1-0 Saturday in Vancouver, B.C.
• The Heat enter this weekend after a scoreless draw with Victoria and a 2-0 loss to UBC.
• TWU is currently 14-0-1 lifetime against UBC Okanagan. The Spartans, who have never lost to the Heat, defeated UBC O twice last season. Winning 1-0 in Kelowna, B.C., and 2-1 in Langley, B.C.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.