Spartans advance with 1-0 win over Griffins

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 6 Trinity Western Spartans women's soccer team advanced to the Canada West Final Four with a 1-0 victory over the visiting MacEwan Griffins Friday night at Chase Office Field in Langley, B.C. This will mark TWU's 24th Canada West Final Four appearance in the past 25 years
 
The Spartans (10-3-1) finished second in the Pacific Division, and the MacEwan Griffins (9-3-2) finished third in the Prairie Division.
 
Scoring the lone goal of the match for the Spartans was third-year forward Luciana Andrews (Coquitlam, B.C.)
 
Third-year keeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) made four saves in the Spartans' win, while MacEwan's Sabrina Alexander made six saves in the Griffins' loss.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now advance to the Canada West Final Four next week, where they will face the Prairie Division's top seed, the Calgary Dinos.
 
QUOTABLE
Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach
"I thought McEwan defended really well and made it hard for us to find extra spaces in some of the gaps. We started really well, won the ball back higher up the field, and generated probably two or three really good half-chances that, with some execution, could have been full chances. But we stuck to it, and then I thought the sub was really helpful. Just gave us a different look and made M a bit more of a threat centrally, and great ball by Sophie and great finish by Luciana. That really settled us down. ?I didn't really feel threatened, except in the second half. It got a little nervy, and they have chances to put some long balls into our box and be a bit dangerous. So in the end, we've persevered and we've managed the last 10 minutes really well. And couldn't be more proud of the kids, but we realized we have bigger aspirations and still have a lot of work to do.
 
On Yasmine Pahal's play
"Yazzy's been great all year, yet she doesn't get the recognition she deserves. ?She's a top keeper, not in Canada West but in Canada. And tonight she bailed us out because they had some grade-A chances, not just one, but the rebound immediately after two back-to-back saves, which probably means we didn't go to overtime."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had sustained pressure throughout much of the opening half, creating numerous dangerous opportunities. TWU was finally rewarded in the 37th minute. Fourth-year midfielder Sophie Crowther (New Westminster, B.C.) got open up the left side of the final third and sent a low cross through the goal crease, where Andrews sent the ball into the open right corner of the net to put TWU up 1-0.
 
The Griffins had more pressure in the second half as MacEwan looked to tie the match. In the 54th minute, MacEwan's Grace Mwasalla and Brynn Horal had back-to-back chances. Mwasalla took a shot from the centre of the Spartans' penalty area, but TWU's Pahal was up to the task, making the stop. The rebound went directly to Horal, whom Pahal stopped to keep the Griffins off the board. The Spartans finished the match on the defensive as TWU held on for the one-goal win.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Griffins 17-7 in total shots, and 7-4 in shots on goal
• TWU had a 9-2 edge in corner kicks
• The Final Four begins October 31 at the highest remaining Pacific Division team.
• Last week, the Spartans went 2-0 with back-to-back 3-0 wins over the Fraser Valley Cascades.
• Last weekend the MacEwan Griffins defeated the Alberta Pandas 3-0 at home in Edmonton, Alta.
• The Spartans are currently 7-3-2 lifetime against the Griffins. TWU's last loss to MacEwan was a 3-2 PK loss in the 2021 U SPORTS championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia. In their last conference matchup on October 25 last year in Edmonton, Alta. the Spartans defeated the Griffins 2-1.
• Last season in the Canada West quarter-finals the Spartans defeated the Griffins 2-1 at Edmonton Scottish Field in Edmonton, Alta.
• The Spartans are led by fourth-year midfielder Sophie Crowther (New Westminster, B.C.), who led Canada West with 19 points, and third-year forward Mansha Sidhu (Surrey, B.C.) who was tied for third in CW in goals with eight.
• The Griffins are led by Raeghan McCarthy who was tied for sixth in CW in goals with seven and Brynn Hobal who was eighth in CW in points with eight.
• MacEwan is 4-0 in their four preseason games against Pacific Division teams. Defeating UNBC 2-1 and 2-0, and TRU 3-1 and UFV 2-1 in August. TWU was 6-1 against the same teams in conference play with a 20-4 edge in goals scored.