Fraser Valley/Saskatoon (Jordie Arthur)- Women’s Soccer: Huskies score late, Cascades settle for 1-1 draw
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team was just moments away from their first victory of the season, but a late goal from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies meant they were forced to settle for a draw.
The Cascades opened the scoring in just the fourth minute. Luciana Andrews picked up a ball on the left wing and, after beating a pair of defenders, played a cross into the head of Halle McCambley who deftly nodded it home.
Saskatchewan’s Payton Izsak looked to level the score in the 38th minute as her shot got past Cascades keeper Andrea Perkovic but was cleared off the line by a UFV defender.
Perkovic made her best stop of the afternoon in the 81st minute, stopping Saskatchewan’s Naleya Kobussen after a long run into the box.
The Huskies controlled play in the final 10 minutes of the ninety, recording two shots and five corner kicks, but were unable to find a way past Perkovic.
With stoppage time expiring the Cascades seemed to be on the verge of three points, but a late free kick was awarded to the Huskies at the edge of the UFV box. Nicole Burnett stepped up to take it, and on basically the last kick of the game she placed her shot into the top-left corner of the net to salvage the draw for her team.
“Our game plan for both games this weekend was to start on the front foot and try to punish early”, noted UFV head coach Niko Marcina, “our girls executed early in both matches and we’re proud of them for them executing the particular action plan, and for getting on the end of some things we were asking them to do.”
This was the Cascades fourth consecutive match with a draw, which pushes their record to 0-1-4 on the year, while the Huskies move to 2-2-3 with the result.
“Despite not getting the three points that we wanted this weekend the team is developing,” explained Marcina. “We’re making strides with a young team and trending in the right direction; we just have to remain optimistic for these upcoming matches.”
Marcina lauded the efforts of some of his young players post game.
“We are very happy to see our first years get a lot of minutes over the past two games and gain some confidence as a result. Sarah Belcher, Sofia Faremo, Kayla Tallarico, they were fantastic and impactful individuals with large minutes this weekend.”
Next up for the Cascades is a trip to Lethbridge on Tuesday, where they will make up their previously postponed game against the Pronghorns (5 p.m., canadawest.tv).
“It’s going to be tough to forget what just transpired but it’s a good reminder of what we need to accomplish, especially late in games, and how we need to approach each individual game, because we know that every one is going to be competitive.”
Men’s Soccer: Goals galore as Cascades take down Huskies 5-3
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s soccer team outlasted the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to come away with a 5-3 victory on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Cascades improve to 2-4 on the year, while the Huskies drop to 1-4-2.
The goals started early as Ivan Mejia was sent in alone by Manpal Brar, and Mejia finished it nicely underneath the outstretched keeper to open his Canada West account in the ninth minute.
The lead would only last two minutes, as the Huskies’ Kuhle Bekwayo finished off a feed from Ahmed Mohammed.
Saskatchewan earned a penalty after a foul call on Cascades keeper Jackson Cowx in the 17th minute, and Diego Reveco stepped up to the spot and slotted it home to give his team a 2-1 lead.
The Cascades pushed for an equalizer and they found another new contributor to bring them level, as Carson Muter scored his first career goal off a Jeevan Dhaliwal corner kick.
Mikael Mainella gave UFV the lead once again in the 39th minute as he got a hold of a bouncing ball in the box and finished it neatly into the bottom right corner.
The second half started just as frenetic as the first, as Saskatchewan’s Ajani Fountaine got on the end of a cross and knocked it home in the 50th minute to pull his team level once again.
UFV re-established their lead just seconds later, as Mateo Brazinha took advantage of a long ball forward and slotted it home in the 51st minute.
Brar doubled the lead for the Cascades in the 69th minute. After receiving a pass from Mejia, he made a nice move in the box and slid it past the keeper to make it 5-3.
Saskatchewan had a glorious chance to pull one back in the 84th minute, but a shot from Bekwayo struck the crossbar and a rebound chance from Revco was smothered by Cascades keeper Cowx.
“I thought the boys were excellent,” UFV head coach Tom Lowndes said post-game. “There were so many ups and downs in that game. I thought we showed great resolve and a lot of resiliency.”
“Especially when it went 3-3 just after halftime, we could have hung our heads, but we’ve gone right down the other end and scored to take the wind out of their sails. We said yesterday that the game is made up of moments and taking your opportunities, and we did that today.”
Lowndes celebrated his attacking players for creating problems all game.
“They battled for each other for 90 minutes and we scored some really good goals. We have been knocking on the door for a couple of weeks now and this result shows what kind of offensive power we have.”
“I also thought Carson Muter was excellent. To see him cap it off with a goal today as a first-year stepping into the back line, it’s fantastic — he’s been great all weekend and he deserves it.”
The Cascades now return home to take on the Alberta Golden Bears Friday at Rotary Stadium (7 p.m. kickoff, canadawest.tv).
