It was a tough night to be a UNBC soccer player.
The Mount Royal Cougars waltzed into the North Cariboo Senior Soccer League (NCSSL) Fields and blanked the Timberwolves by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 in Canada West Soccer.
Talisa Tefledzuk came off the bench in the second half to crack a scoreless tie, providing the game-winner for Mount Royal by taking advantage of a defensive gaffe in front of T-Wolves goalkeeper Brooke Molby.
The first-year player says she was surprised when she got the golden opportunity.
“I was so nervous I thought I was going to mess it up. That was my first goal in this league so it is pretty emotional.”
The Cougars made a series of substitutions in the second half, ultimately putting them in the drivers seat for their second win of the season.
“I think we needed to bring a little more fire into the game and some fresh legs and that really brought it home,” added Tefledzuk.
Emily Sands provided the insurance marker for Mount Royal.
@UNBCWSoccer Game ends at 2-0 for @MRUCougars. Stay tuned for the @UNBCMSoccer vs MRU!
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) September 16, 2017
One of the bright spots in UNBC’s defeat was Julia Babicz, who found herself in the starting eleven.
“They deserved that first goal,” said Babicz.
“They stepped right into it and they knew exactly where it was going and after that they were able to come through with some passes and break our back four.”
The women’s soccer team drops to 2-1 on the season and will host the Alberta Pandas on Sunday at 1:15PM.
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In the men’s action, a tough call against UNBC goalkeeper Tyrone Venhola led to a controversial goal from the corner by Daniel Harrison, giving Mount Royal the 1-0 road victory.
A weird deflection eluded the T-Wolves, ending up in the back of the net.
However, the star of the game was Cougars goalkeeper Kyran Valley, who made seven saves in the victory.
“Everyone including all of my defenders did a great job in front of me and did all the work – it was okay, it was easy.”
Despite a valiant effort, your UNBC Men’s soccer team falls 1-0 to MRU cougars #unbctwolves
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) September 16, 2017
One of Valley’s victims was Timberwolves forward Francesco Bartolillo, robbing him point-blank on two occassions, including a deflected kick in stride that was tossed aside by the MRU netminder.
“We created a lot of chances and the team did an awesome job of keeping the possessions, building the play up and getting balls on the blocks but give some credit to the keeper, he kept them in it and made some unbelievable saves. Our finishing has to be that much better if we want to get some points.”
The Timberwolves outshot the Cougars 15-6 overall in the game.
Mount Royal improves to 2-2-1 on the season, while UNBC falls to 2-2-3.
The men’s soccer team also plays Alberta on Sunday at 11AM.
