Action-packed Second Half Sees No. 2 Trinity Western Open the Floodgates in Heat Loss

photo Greystoke Photography - #13 UBC Okanagan forward Courtney Hemmerling scores first of career for UBC Okanagan.

Following a tightly contested first half that saw little action, all six of the goals in the Canada West women’s soccer match between the hometown UBC Okanagan Heat and the visiting No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans Saturday night would be put in during the final 45 minutes, culminating in a 5-1 loss for the Kelowna squad.

In an attempt to rally back late from an 0-3 hole, first-year Heat forward Courtney Hemmerling (Kelowna, BC) made a dash down the left lane and got a spot-on set up by third-year midfielder Mairi Horth (Ladysmith, BC) for the nice shot past the Trinity Keeper on the left side.

“Was the score indicative of our play? No,” said Heat coach Claire Paterson following the contest. “We could have packed it in, said ‘whatever,’ but we continued to compete. And that was sheer hard work out of our players.”

Unfortunately, dreams of a Heat comeback were quashed behind an eventful final twelve minutes of the match that saw King and Kashima score their second goals of the game each. Kashima’s final goal of the match was a true dagger in the coffin, as she capitalized from a miscommunication among the Heat defense, eventually picking the ball loose from Heat keeper Christine Tallon’s (5th year, Kamloops, BC) clutches for the easy point.

An impressive first half for the Heat was highlighted by a strong defensive showing against the offensively loaded Trinity cast.

In rapid succession within a minute-long window near the start of the second half, the Spartans got on the board with goals one and two, scored first by Leanne Verhoeff and followed quickly by a header by Jessica King.

Goal number three came from a speedy attack by Seina Kashima, who pulled excellent back-to-back moves to work past two defenders and slide it in past Tallon.

Despite her goals against, Tallon still managed nine saves on the night.

“We worked really hard defensively together, and we didn’t make the little errors that other teams can capitalize on,” Paterson said of the effort. “In the first half we were sharper with the ball, we didn’t gift any easy balls in the middle.”

For her effort on the defensive end including a few key stops, fourth-year defender Hayley Carlson was named the Heat’s Player of the Game.

“We’re a new team, not only in the league, but we have 50% new players on our team,” Paterson said, prefacing praise for her squad. “So it’s super encouraging to see us come out, compete, and compete well against the reigning national champions.”

““We’ve shown that we can play for forty-five minutes … now it’s showing that we can play for ninety minutes. If you fade out here and there, you’re going to get punished,” Paterson concluded.

The Heat are now 0-2-2 for the season, while the No. 2 ranked Spartans move to a 3-0-1 record and a lead in the Pacific Division.

The Spartans have a weekend off from Canada West action, while the Heat are back at home again to host the Victoria Vikes Friday night and the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday night. Kickoff for Friday is at 4 p.m., and on Saturday at 5 p.m. on the Nonis Sports Field.

Women’s Soccer (Canada West Conference play)

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