Top ranked and undefeated

Posted by admin on Sep 22, 2009 in Sports, Volume 14 Issue 1 | 0 comments

White light floods the northwest corner of campus. The smell of freshly cut grass fills the air. It is the glorious return of the Spartans onto the soccer pitch.

It was November of last year that the women won the national championship right here at Trinity Western University, while the unranked men stunned the CIS with a silver medal finish in Ottawa. The Spartans came into the 2009-10 season ranked #1 (WS) and #2 (MS) in the country. With the women looking to have a repeat CIS title and the men looking to win nationals on home turf with the CIS championship being held on campus, the stage was set for the Spartans to leave it all on the field.

Women’s Soccer
On opening weekend, the Spartans hit the road with stops in Saskatoon to play Saskatchewan and in Edmonton to play Alberta. With their reputation as the number one team in the country, there was bound to be strong opposition. The women in blue and gold stood their ground with a 3-2 victory over the Huskies and then a 1-0 victory over the Pandas. Nikki Wright scored both game-winning goals and continued to prove why she has won CIS Rookie of the Year, Canada West Player of the Year, and Sport BC University Athlete of the Year.

Last weekend, the Spartans found themselves at UBC where they won the first-ever game on Thunderbird soil. The game ended 3-1 with two Spartan goals coming from first-year forward Alicia Tesan.
The Spartan women will host UBC in their home opener this Friday on campus.

Men’s Soccer
The men began their season on the road as well with games against Saskatchewan and Alberta. The boys started the season on a high note with a 3-1 win over the Huskies and then ended the roadtrip with a tough defensive battle against the Golden Bears that ended in a 1-1 draw.

The following weekend, the men hosted the Calgary Dinos and Lethbridge Pronghorns at Spartan Field. The loud and lively Spartan Faithful packed into the stands to cheer on the home team, which had trouble finding the net in the first half. The second half did not fare any better with the Dinos pressing the box from all sides. With one defensive error at the back, the Dino strikers capitalized with a smoker off the crossbar and into the net. Suddenly, the Spartans showed up to the game and Nathan Pogue soon found the back of the net to rescue a point and end the game in a 1-1 draw.

On Saturday night, the Spartans found their stride against the Lethbridge with a 3-1 victory. The boys in blue kept the pedal to the metal for the majority of the game.

The Spartans now hit the road with games next weekend against UFV and UVic.