Fourth-year forward Kirsten Dodds nets Player of the Game honours in team’s first Canada West game. (Photo by Alex Hill)
Women’s Soccer (Canada West Conference play)
Saturday, September 6th, 2014 BOX SCORE | SCHEDULE & RESULTS
NCSSL Field, Prince George, B.C.
UNBC Timberwolves (0-0-1) vs. UBC Okanagan Heat (0-0-1)
| Goals by period | 1 | 2 | Tot |
| UNBC Timberwolves | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UBC Okanagan Heat | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PRINCE GEORGE, BC – Debuting in their first ever Canada West match, the UBC Okanagan Heat women’s soccer team sparred with a fellow relatively new-to-the CIS opponent UNBC for 90 minutes towards an eventual 0-0 draw to open their respective seasons Saturday afternoon on the North Caribou Fields in Prince George.
Despite a domination of the ball offensively by the Heat, who outshot the Timberwolves, in just their third year of Canada West play, 23-7, the visiting team struggled to find their marks as they pressured opposing keeper Jordan Hall to save only seven of those shots.
Heat Player of the Game Kirsten Dodds (4th-year, Vernon, BC) fired off four shots of her own, including a single on-goal attempt three minutes in that Hall got her paws on.
Following an offside committed by UNBC in the 76th minute, the Heat came up with their best chances at a goal in the ensuing play as rookie forwards Susan Traynor (Calgary, AB)and Tori Sanderson (London, ON) traded blows with Hall in back-to-back chances. Traynor’s initial shot was deflected and a skirmish in front of the net led to Sanderson getting a look, but Hall was too quick. Sanderson managed a third attempt in a thirty-second span but her shot sailed wide to the right.
Fifth-year forward Marissa Klees (Bellingham, WA) was strong in the opening minutes of the match, sparking the relentless charge for the Heat on the offensive end as she took aim but sent her try wide in the opening minute of play.
The insertion of Traynor by the seven-year coach paid off as the rookie kept up the offensive pressure, torqueing two of four shots at net in 62 minutes of playing time.
Overall, coach Paterson was pleased with her team’s performance, but knows that her squad is capable of much more.
“We played ok and had the run of the game for large periods, creating several goal scoring opportunities but just missing the mark,” Paterson said in postgame comments, adding that “the team is disappointed we were unable to get on the score board and we will be evaluating how we can improve our performance.”
With a large crop of veterans outgoing at the end of last season, combined with the excellence of talent in her latest recruitment class, Paterson also chose to trust over 70 minutes of time each to Sanderson and fellow first-year Courtney Hemmerling (Kelowna, BC).
Fifth-year keeper Christine Tallon (Kamloops, BC) stopped five balls en route to her first Canada West shutout with the Heat, keeping the team’s loss column clean to start their CIS career.
The Heat and Timberwolves will be at it again on a quest for their first win of the season Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on the NCSSL field.
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