LANGLEY, B.C. – In a battle of the Canada West titans Saturday night, the second-ranked Trinity Western Spartans battled the No. 5 Calgary Dinos to a 1-1 draw in the final match of the regular season.
The Spartans' Steph Chin gave the home side the lead in the sixth minute after she converted a penalty kick, but the Dinos'
Mollee Ramsay equalized in the 49th minute.
"It was a really entertaining game," Roxburgh said. "It ebbed and flowed and they had a couple of really good chances towards the end. I thought we weren't really sharp with our finishing, but I was delighted with some of the chances we created. We just need a little bit more intentionality to make the right run or seal the box. Overall, it was two very good teams and they went at it tonight and in some ways nobody had the knock-out punch."
TWU goalie Christian Oliverio made four saves to earn the tie, including a pair of the highlight-reel variety in the 67th minute and in second half stoppage time. Former Spartan
Sophia Traxler stopped six of the seven shots she faced for the Dinos.
Just before the final whistle, Nicole Bolder nearly sent the Spartans into the win column, but her crack from inside the box just sailed over the bar.
The tie saw TWU's regular season unbeaten streak extended to 27 games. However, the result also snapped the Spartans winning streak at eight games.
Calgary, who had long ago secured top spot in the Prairie Division, caps the regular season with a 9-1-4 record. They finish the season having tied three straight games.
The Spartans got the early jump when Chin tallied her Canada West-leading third penalty kick goal of the season. Seina Kashima (Burnaby, B.C.) was taken down in the box to earn the penalty and Chin remained perfect on the season from the penalty spot.
TWU nearly went ahead by two goals in the 36th minute, but Leanne Verhoeff's shot from distance hit the crossbar.
Ramsay, who came on as a substitution at halftime, scored her 12th goal of the season early in the second half to even the score line. Ramsay took advantage of a loose ball in the box and buried it past Oliverio from in tight.
Former Spartan
Natalie Arnett had a brilliant opportunity to put Calgary ahead in the 67th minute, but a hard-charging Oliverio rushed out to deflect her shot clear of the goal.
Just beyond 90 minutes, Oliverio had to come up big again, stopping
Jordan Smith in a similar circumstance in which the TWU netminder charged at the Dinos striker, sliding out to make the stop.
TWU will now prepare to host UBC Okanagan in the opening round of the playoffs Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. (PT) at Chase Office Field. In their only meeting this year, TWU won 3-0 on the road.
The Dinos will open the post-season at home next weekend. However their opponent will be determined after Sunday's results.
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