CALGARY – The Trinity Western Spartans have secured their spot at the U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship in Halifax.

A goal in the 80th minute by fifth-year forward Payton Izsak stood up as the deciding factor as the Spartans defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 3-2 in the Canada West Bronze Medal Match at McMahon Stadium.

Calgary and Trinity Western traded leads in a back-and-forth thriller on Saturday afternoon. After the Dinos scored first, the Spartans responded with a pair of goals before halftime and held that lead until the 69th minute when the home team tied it up.

That set the stage for Izsak's heroics.

"I'm really excited. It's always been a dream of mine to go to nationals, and I knew if I was going to go, it would be with this team," said Izsak, who began her university career with the Saskatchewan Huskies. "I'm just so proud of our team and the effort that everyone performed."

An eventful first half started with a goal from Dinos freshman Isabella Burtini in the 13th minute. Grace Moore crossed the ball from the left side, finding Burtini, who launched a shot into the top right corner past Spartans goaltender Yasmine Pahal. 

Trinity Western took the lead with success off set pieces.

The first goal came in the 21st minute when Luciana Andrews found herself above the defenders off a corner kick, heading the ball past Dinos 'keeper Anna Demarbre. 

Twenty minutes later, Mansha Sidhu curled a free kick into the back of the net and put the Spartans ahead.

Offence appeared hard to come by until a fortunate bounce went Calgary's way. A halftime substitution, Rowyn James carried the play up the field and delivered the ball into the box, where it deflected off a Spartan and fell perfectly to Isabella DiPalma for a tap-in.

Just over 10 minutes later, Trinity Western went back in front with the eventual game-winning goal. Veronica Walter made a well-timed pass that caught the Calgary goalkeeper off centre and left plenty of space for Izsak to deposit her shot.

"I think our team is very good at what we do. We execute our game plan pretty well for every game. A lot of the girls have been to nationals before, so I think we're really confident," explained Izsak. "We knew that after this game, every game is a do or die, so if we could get past one hurdle, then we'd be able to get past the next and just go forward from there."

The loss sees the Dinos' season come to an end. Sunday was the final game in the Scarlet & Gold for graduating players Rachel Barlow, Jayden Berg, and Jade Kao. 

"I thought we were consistent, and I think we showed that in playoffs as well. We just need to ensure that when we get to these moments, we stay within ourselves and find ways to win, not just play good football," said Dinos head coach Diogo Raposo.

Visit U SPORTS.ca for seeding and scheduling information for the 2024 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship.