Last weekend the Cascades were able to clinch a spot in the playoffs. Ending up in fifth place in the Canada West Pacific division, the Cascades began their post-season against the Canada West Prairie division’s fourth-ranked team, the University of Alberta Pandas.
The last time the two teams met was on Sept. 22 this season. Unfortunately for the Cascades, two late-game goals for the Pandas resulted in a 2-2 tie.
During the first half of Friday’s game, the Cascades looked hungry to start the scoring. Before half-time, the Cascades only allowed the Pandas to take a total of three shots, while they managed to take nine of their own. Unfortunately, despite taking triple the shots of their opponents, the Cascades and the Pandas left the first half still tied at 0-0.
As the Cascades and the Pandas played through the second half of the game, the shot differential between the teams narrowed. The second half saw the Cascades only make three scoring attempts, while the Pandas took seven. Although the Cascades were shooting less in the latter half of the game, they were able to open the scoring in the 55th minute of play. This goal came when Cascades’ Kailyn Halvorson made a long pass forward in the air. Meeting Halvorson’s pass was teammate Kate Fisher, with a header that sent Cascades’ Bryana Buttar on a breakaway. With a Pandas defender trying to catch up to her, Buttar battled to keep the ball in her possession before smacking it past Pandas’ goalkeeper, Ashley Turner.
After the Cascades took the lead 1-0, the Pandas continued to press in the offensive end. Fortunately for the rest of the Cascades team, their goalkeeper, Andrea Perkovic, continued to stop everything that went her way. Out of the Pandas’ 10 shooting attempts throughout the game, only one was not on net. Perkovic’s stellar performance, paired with Buttar’s goal, saw the Cascades win their first game in their playoff run 1-0.
After winning the game against Alberta, the Cascades had less than 48 hours before they started their second round of playoffs. This time the Cascades were up against their division leaders, the Trinity Western Spartans, in another single match knockout. The last time the two teams met was on Oct. 11 and 13, where the Cascades left the weekend losing both games.
The first half of Sunday’s game saw the Cascades down after 20 minutes of play. Although there were still nearly 25 minutes of play left in the half, the Cascades were unable to find themselves a shooting opportunity. Once the second half started, the two teams fought over the ball; however, in the 56th minute of play, Cascades’ Brittney Zacharuk was able to tie up the game for the Cascades. Unfortunately for the Cascades, Zacharuk’s goal was shortly followed by a goal from Trinity Western’s Jenaya Robertson. With nearly 30 minutes left of play after Robertson’s goal, neither team was able to add to the score, and the game ended with a 2-1 victory for the Spartans.
Although they battled hard throughout the game, the loss against the Spartans concluded the Cascades’ postseason run.
Image: UFV Athletics
Photograph: Kate Fisher
