SYDNEY, Nova Scotia - The Trinity Western Spartans quest for a sixth national title came to sudden end Sunday afternoon as TWU fell 3-2 in penalty kicks to the MacEwan Griffins in the U SPORTS national championship in Sydney, N.S.
Watch the highlights:
TWU is now 27-10-1 in 13 national tournaments and they have played in nine of the last 10 U SPORTS championships. In their last appearance in 2018, TWU lost 2-1 to Ottawa in the gold medal match.
The Spartans and Griffins battled to a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime before the MacEwan bested Trinity Western 3-2 in penalty kicks. Griffin back-up keeper Bianca Castillo made the save on the Spartans Katheryn Harvey to earn the victory for MacEwan. TWU scored twice in five attempts, Anna Dunn, and Olivia Kranjcec, while MacEwan scored three times in four attempts, Erin Van Dolder, Hannah Supina, and Grace Mwasalla.
The Spartans finish the season at 16-1-1 earning a Canada West championship and a U SPORTS silver medal. The Griffins finish the season 15-3 with a U SPORTS championship and a Canada West bronze medal. The U SPORTS championship victory is a first for MacEwan University women's soccer.
Trinity Western's Kathryn Harvey opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Forward Maddie Melnychuk took the ball up the right side and sent a low cross towards the MacEwan six where Harvey redirected the ball into the back of the Griffens net to put TWU up 1-0.
MacEwan evened up the score in the 37th minute after a TWU yellow card in the penalty area resulted in the penalty kick for the Griffins. MacEwan's Raeghan McCarthy took the PK and evened the score at 1-1 with her strike into the leftside of the Spartans net.
The Griffins had sustained pressure in the final minutes of the first half and were rewarded for their efforts in extra time. MacEwan's Salma Kamel took a pass from Grace Mwasalla at the top of the box and in traffic sent the hard shot off of the TWU cross bar. Leaping to deflect the high shot, TWU's keeper Hannah Miller saw the ball come off of the bar and rebound off of her back and into the Spartans net to give the Griffins a 2-1 lead after the first half of play.
The Spartans Kathryn Harvey got her second goal of the game, and fourth of the championship, to tie the match in the 63rd minute of play. Harvey took a pass from Sierra Halldorson just at the top of the box, where she split the MacEwan defenders to get open on the right side. Harvey then sent the ball past MacEwan's Breanna Truscott to tie the match at 2-2.
The two teams held each other off the score sheet for the remainder of regulation and overtime as the game went to penalty kicks to determine the national champion.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.