Trinity Western University’s Leighton Johnson scored the game’s only goal in the 68th minute to lift the Spartans to a 1-0 win over the Seattle Pacific Falcons in men’s soccer action Saturday.
The victory marked TWU’s first win of the spring season as well as the first win since Mike Shearon took over as head coach.
Taking a pass from Sebastian Winfield in the box, Johnson turned on the spot and whipped a quick shot to the low left corner, beating the Falcons keeper for the game-winner.
The Spartans are now 1-2-1 against university competition this spring.
“Getting a win today against a team like SPU, who played some good football today, was fantastic,” Shearon said, not long after the final whistle. “A couple of times during the spring we’ve had opportunities to win games and we didn’t take our chances. Today, we took one in the box, got the goal and managed to hang on and clear the box when we needed to, which is a huge growth step for our team.
“I thought Leighton Johnson was fantastic today. He’s been struggling a bit recently, but today he went out and held up the ball well, scored the goal and kept us in possession. [Langley resident] Vaggeli Boucas was a rock at the back. He was great in terms of composure and keeping us organized. And really, the back four were all really good this afternoon.”
Both teams had first half chances, but it was TWU’s Andrew Hicks who was the busier of the keepers as he was forced to make a few key saves, including a highlight-reel leaping save midway through the half.
“The save that Hicks made was great in the first half and that kept us in it,” Shearon said. “The backline held up and Hicksy came up with a big one when we needed it.”
The Spartans will play their final game of the spring season April 16, when they host Western Washington at 1 p.m.
