Mother Nature greeted the UNBC Timberwolves and the Mount Royal Cougars with a damp first day of fall.
Both teams battled through the wet conditions at Masich Place Stadium on Sunday, which resulted in a 0-0 draw in Canada West women’s soccer.
Scoring chances were few and far between for UNBC, however, in the 20th minute, Paige Payne was robbed point blank on back-to-back attempts by Cougars goalkeeper Katrina Greenley who made six saves in the game.
“I think we were a little bit on our heels in the first fifteen minutes and you have to make those saves when your team is a little nervous. Once I made those saves it really helped the team calm down a little bit and from there we started to take control and get possession a little bit more,” said Greenley.
POSTGAME: Six saves and a clean sheet for @MRU_wsoccer keeper @katgk after @MRUCougars‘ 0-0 draw with the @UNBCWSoccer pic.twitter.com/zVYStPI39W
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) September 22, 2019
Timberwolves third-year goalkeeper Madi Doyle got the start and was equally as busy turning away seven Mount Royal shots for the clean sheet.
Doyle found it wasn’t hard to keep focus in a game with limited scoring chances, guarding against the element of surprise.
“I think it’s almost easier to in games like that to keep my focus because you have to expect the unexpected because all it takes is one great opportunity and that’s the game.”
UNBC only generated two shots in the second half as MRU did a good of bottling up the speed of the T-Wolves in the final 45 minutes.
Fourth-year midfielder Ashley Volk told MyPGNow.com after the game the Cougars high-press made life a lot more difficult.
“It was really challenging to play out, they really pushed out and tested us in the back but I think we had some moments where we were able to play out of the press and other times where it was a bit more challenging.”
POSTGAME: Mara McCleary and the @UNBCWSoccer earn a 0-0 draw with @MRU_wsoccer, in a rainy @CanadaWest matchup. The elite center back talks about her team’s efforts, and how they feel six games into the season! #gotwolves pic.twitter.com/2LAYK2YULw
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) September 22, 2019
The Timberwolves improve to 3-1-2.
They are on the road Saturday and Sunday against UBC Okanagan (0-6-0-0) and Thompson Rivers (1-4-1).
In men’s action, UNBC split a pair of games in Edmonton.
On Saturday, the T-Wolves dropped a heartbreaker against the Alberta Golden Bears (2-4-1) losing 3-2, allowing two goals in the dying minutes.
Anthony Preston and Stu Rowlands scored in defeat, which saw UNBC blow an early 2-0 advantage.
Owen Stewart sealed the 1-0 victory on Sunday for the (4-4-1) Timberwolves against the MacEwan Griffins (1-5-2) in the 80th minute.
Daniel Zadravec earned a four-save shutout in his first career Canada West start for UNBC.
The UBC Thunderbirds (5-1-1) make the trek to Prince George with games against the T-Wolves Friday at 6 pm and Sunday at Noon from Masich Place Stadium.
A BIG win for @UNBCMSoccer, topping the @MacEwanGriffins on a @OwenBStewart11 goal in the 80th minute! And a clean sheet for Daniel Zadravec – his first @CanadaWest win! pic.twitter.com/vHMVCuRS1S
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) September 22, 2019