The University of the Fraser Valley women's soccer team ran its win streak to five games and locked up a playoff berth on Friday afternoon, topping the UBC Okanagan Heat 1-0 in Kelowna.
The Heat came in hot in their own right, riding a two-game win streak after sweeping the Victoria Vikes at home the previous weekend.Â
The Cascades, though, owned the majority of possession, registered nine shots on goal to the Heat's one, and racked up 12 corner kicks. They made good on that pressure in the 68th minute, as
Taylor Nekic rose to head home
Harneet Dadrao's corner, and goalkeeper
Joven Sandhu closed out her fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
The UFV side (5-4-2) advances to the Canada West post-season for the ninth straight season, and can finish as high as third in the West Division, but where they end up depends on the outcome of this weekend's UVic-UBC matches. The Vikes came into the weekend on 14 points, tied with UFV for third place, and their game Friday was still ongoing as the Cascades came off the pitch in Kelowna.
UBCO (2-6-3), meanwhile, is eliminated from playoff contention based on Friday's result.
The Cascades and Heat teams wrap up the weekend set on Saturday (4 p.m.,Â
CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
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"I have to give a lot of credit and respect to (UBCO head coach) Craig Smith and how he's running his team," Cascades head coach
Niko Marcina said afterward. "They're very tough to break down, and they did a good job of maintaining possession. The first 15 minutes, we were very challenged by how they were moving the ball.Â
"The second half was about grit, perseverance, and wanting to get those three points and wanting to get a goal. As a result of that grit, we were able to get it done. You just had a feeling it was going to go in the back of the net, and sure enough,
Taylor Nekic connected on a beautiful corner."
The Cascades gained traction as the first half wore on, earning a series of corners in rapid-fire fashion – four in a span of two minutes, from the 18th through the 20th.
Yet they were unable to connect, and later on, a pair of dangerous-looking forays from open play involving
Hannah Gamble and
Halle McCambley also came up empty. McCambley shot wide off a set-up from Gamble in the 23rd, and in the 42nd, Gamble's shot from the top of the box was saved by UBCO keeper Molly Race.
The UFV side broke through midway through the second half, as Nekic stepped forward to meet Dadrao's corner and steer it into the bottom left corner.
At the other end of the pitch, Sandhu was outstanding, coming off her line aggressively to defuse a series of dangerous-looking through balls from the Heat.
"I have to give Joven a lot of credit," said Marcina, "she was a catalyst to us getting the result today."
Marcina also had plaudits for the attacking trio of Gamble, Dadrao and
Jashan Sandhar, who created a great deal of havoc in the attacking third. Dadrao and Sandhar were elusive with the ball at their feet, and Gamble ran miles as she pressured the Heat's defenders.
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