Womens soccer battles till final whistle, settles for tie vs. Calgary

Womens soccer battles till final whistle, settles for tie vs. Calgary

SASKATOON – Trading goals, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Calgary Dinos played to a 1-1 draw Sunday afternoon on Field 7 at PotashCorp Park.

The Huskies jumped on the board first scoring in the 35th minute and the Dinos tallied the equalizer in the 67th.

With the draw, Saskatchewans record sits at 4-1-1 in the women's soccer standings. Calgary is 2-2-2.

Leesa Eggum continued her impressive play after a clutch two goal performance yesterday vs. Lethbridge. In the 35th minute, the fifth-year Nursing student let a clean strike go inside the box that quickly found the back of the net, beating the diving Dino keeper.

The Dinos would battle back and bury an equalizer in the second half. Huskie keeper Kyleigh Vause attempted to clear the ball at the top of the box, but the Dino's snuck it past the fifth-year education student for an easy tap-in for Maddison Fritze.

Second-year striker Taneil Gay had a good chance to open the scoring early on for the green and white. Gay maneuvered through the Dino defense before sending a powerful strike that beat Calgary keeper Lauren Houghton, but couldn't beat the crossbar.

Coming out of the first half, Jessica Bradford had a quality chance in front of the Dino net. Bradford found herself moving up with the ball as the Huskies controlled the action deep in Calgary territory. Bradford's strike had a clear path to the top corner but Houghton made a spectacular diving save that kept her team within striking distance.

The Huskies had another chance as time wound down. In the 80th minute. Maya Gabruch split a couple of Dino defenders before sending the ball off her left foot that ricocheted hard off the post and bounced out.

Calgary's Houghton made seven saves on eight Huskies shots, while Vause made three stops on four Dino shots on target.

The Huskies will travel to meet the Mount Royal Cougars and Alberta Pandas next weekend, while Calgary returns home to host the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen.