Fifth-year defender Amy Gartke (Edmonton) scored the lone goal in the 57th minute to help the Trinity Western women’s soccer team edge the Concordia University Cavaliers 1-0 Thursday night at Tuominen Yard in Portland, Oregon.
With the win, the Spartans improve their pre-season record to an unblemished 3-0.
TWU fifth-year keeper Rachel Sydor (Tsawwassen) earned the shutout win and extended her shutout streak to 196 minutes.
Concordia used three different keepers, Hailey Asato, Rose Hauser, and Abigail Diller, with Diller giving up the lone goal and taking the loss.
The match was a defensive battle, with a lot of the play in the centre of the park.
Gartke’s goal was her second of the 2018 pre-season. She joins fourth-year forward Rachel Hutchinson (Cloverdale) and fifth-year forward Danae Derksen (Delta) who have each tallied twice in preseason play.
Both teams combined for a total of 14 shots, with TWU holding an 8-6 edge in total shots and a 5-0 edge in shots on goal. Concordia finished the evening with a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The Spartans will now head to Lacey, Wash. to take on the Saint Martin’s University, before returning home to host Seattle Pacific University on Saturday night. The latter match is scheduled for a 5 p.m. , and will be played at Yorkson Community Park Field in Langley.
Trinity Western’s women’s soccer team will open its Canada West championship defence with a rematch of last year’s gold medal game against Victoria on Sept. 7 at the Spartans chase office field.
The Spartans season-opening contest is part of a key home weekend in which the Spartans will also host UBC on Sept. 8.
TWU capped last year’s Canada West campaign with a 3-0 semi-final win over the Thunderbirds followed by a 2-1 win over the Vikes in the conference final.
TWU posted a 10-3-1 regular season record last year, which included a 10-match shutout streak. The Spartans went on to win the conference title before earning a bronze medal at the national championship.
The Spartans have played in each of the last seven Canada West championship games, winning four times (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2017).
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REGULAR SEASON (all times Pacific)
September
Fri. 7 Victoria at 5 p.m.
Sat. 8 UBC at 5 p.m.
Fri. 14 at Manitoba at 4 p.m.
Sat. 15 at Winnipeg at 5 p.m.
Fri. 21 MacEwan at 5 p.m.
Sat. 22 UNBC at 5 p.m.
Sat. 29 at TRU at 1 p.m.
Sun. 30 at UBCO at 1 p.m.
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October
Fri. 5 UFV at 5 p.m.
Sun. 7 at UFV at 2 p.m.
Fri. 12 Alberta at 5 p.m.
Sat. 13 Mount Royal at 5 p.m.
Fri. 19 at UBC at 6 p.m.
Sat. 20 at Victoria at 5 p.m.
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PLAYOFFS
October
Thur. 25 Play-In Game
Sat. 27 Quarter-Final Match
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November
Nov. 1-3 Canada West Final Four
Nov. 8-11 U SPORTS Championship (Ottawa)
