WEEKEND PREVIEW: SPARTANS HOST HUSKIES AND ‘BEARS IN MEN’S SOCCER’S FINAL HOMESTAND

MEN’S SOCCER (CANADA WEST)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2011
WEEKEND PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WEEKEND PREVIEW: SPARTANS HOST HUSKIES AND ‘BEARS IN MEN’S SOCCER’S FINAL HOMESTAND

 

LANGLEY, British Columbia – This weekend at Rogers Park the Spartans invite the Huskies and the Golden Bears to Langley, B.C. for the last Spartan home stand of the regular season. The unranked Spartans will seek to regain their earlier form against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Friday at 7 p.m., and against the University of Alberta on Saturday at 7 p.m. Prior to the men’s Saturday match the TWU men’s and women’s soccer teams will be honouring their graduating senior athletes.

Trinity Western Spartans (5-3-2)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West ranking: 4th
Last Weekend: Victoria 2-3 L, UFV 2-1 W
Streak: 1 win
2010 Canada West record: 5-5-4, 5th
2010 Canada West Tournament: N/A
2010 CIS Tournament: N/A

As Trinity Western faces their last few opponents of the season, the pressure is on in the extremely tight Canada West conference to qualify for the Final Four. The Spartans sit just above the threshold coming into this weekend, as one point separates the Spartans from either moving up in the standings or falling below the minimum fourth place ranking.

Last weekend the Spartans faced a tenacious University of Victoria team. The Spartans Spencer Schmidt sunk his sixth goal of the season to open the scoring against Victoria’s Eliot Mitrou. The Vikes responded with three goals over the next sixty minutes, gaining a 3-1 advantage by the time the referees called stoppage time. Cody Strelau slipped one past Mitrou during the stoppage time but it was too little too late as the Vikes came away with a 3-2 win.

On the following day the Spartans won a 2-1 match against UFV. Dan Lowen was the first goal scorer for the Spartans, at 26:45 of the first half. Lowen got the set up from Brayden Gant and managed to send the ball past the UFV keeper. TWU maintained the lead until the 71st minute, when Jordan Tipton sent a header into the back of the Trinity Western net.

The two teams remained tied up until the final few minutes of the game, when Shawn Parkes took a Brayden Volkenant pass and sent it past UFV’s Mark Village. The Cascades were unable to respond and Trinity Western took a 2-1 win.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies (4-4-2)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West ranking: 6th
Last Weekend: Lethbridge 3-0 W, Calgary 0-1 L
Streak: 1 loss
2010 Canada West record: 7-4-3, 4th
2010 Canada West Tournament: 1-1, 2nd
2010 CIS Tournament: Bronze

Still in the battle for a Canada West playoff position, the Huskies are in a desperate mission to move up in the rankings. Saskatchewan played to a weekend split last weekend during their trip to Alberta.

In the first match, the Huskies scored a win against the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Brett Levis was the standout of the game as he had two goals and a number of scoring chances against Lethbridge netminder, Colin Pattison.

The other marker to get past Pattison was a Bobbi Nicholat shot that found its way past the goal line. By the final whistle, the Huskies blanked the Pronghorns with a 3-0 final score. Mark Diakiaw earned his third shutout of the season in net for the Huskies.

The next game played out differently for the Huskies as they battled the Calgary Dinos. Yoann Promonet was the only player to score a goal, and he led his Dinos to a 1-0 victory over the Huskies.

Saskatchewan’s 4-4-2 record finds them in an uncomfortable sixth place in Canada West, but the Huskies are still in the playoff race as they sit three points out of the Final Four.

The Spartans won the last meeting between these two teams, as Garrett Peters scored the sole goal in 1-0 game on September 25.

University of Alberta Golden Bears (5-2-3)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West ranking: 3rd
Last Weekend: Calgary 2-0 W, Lethbridge 3-0 W
Streak: 2 wins
2010 Canada West record: 11-2-1, 1st
2010 Canada West Tournament: 1-1, 3rd
2010 CIS Tournament: N/A

Following a slow start, the Golden Bears have vaulted to 3rd place in Canada West, but must remain strong in order to keep a playoff position.

Last weekend the Golden Bears played strong games against their Albertan opponents, starting with rival Calgary Dinos. The Golden Bears showed no mercy to their Calgary counterparts as they won in a 2-0 shutout. Brett Colvin and Milan Timotijevic scored for the Alberta win. Notable in the game was Colvin’s effort, placing him at the top of the Golden Bears all-time scoring records.

On the next day, the Golden Bears made it two in a row with a shutout over the Lethbridge Pronghorns. After a scoreless first half, Matthew Dearborn found the net for the Golden Bears and put them ahead 1-0. Jonah Fell and Brett Colvin scored later in the half to clinch the Alberta victory.

The pair of wins puts the Golden Bears in sole possession of the Canada West 3rd place ranking, but they hold the position precariously, as three teams below them are within striking distance.

These teams last clashed on September 24 in Edmonton, when the Spartans edged the Golden Bears in a 1-0 match.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2011-10-20
Author: Scott Stewart