Coming off of last weekend’s wins against Winnipeg and Manitoba, the Cascades held a record of 2-1-1. With two consecutive home wins, the Cascades were looking to carry their momentum forward with them into their Alberta road trip.
The first game of the weekend saw the Cascades take on the MacEwan University Griffins. Going into the weekend the Griffins held a record of 3-0-1 and first place in the Canada West Prairie Division.
Although the Cascades were coming off a successful weekend at home, the first half of the game against the Griffins had the Cascades struggling to recapture the energy of the previous weekend. After just over 10 minutes of play, the Cascades saw themselves down by one. This goal came when Griffins player, Samantha Gouveia, headed the ball to the right of Cascade’s goalkeeper, Andrea Perkovic. Holding a 1-0 score against the Cascades, the Griffins continued to apply pressure. With less than a minute to go in the first half, the Griffins were able to find the net again. This time, the goal came when Meagan Lemoine shot the ball off the crossbar and into the net.
In the first half of play, the Cascades were unable to put a point on the board, and only took a total of two shots. The shot differential between the two teams stood at 10, in favour of the Griffins.
Heading into the second, down by two, the Cascades had a challenging half ahead of them. Although the Cascades were able to stop the Griffins from scoring again and kept them to only two shots in the second half, they were unable to capitalize on any of their chances, resulting in a 2-0 loss.
After the loss to the Canada West Prairie first-place team, the Cascades headed to the University of Alberta to take on the team just one spot down in the standings: the Pandas.
During the second game of the road trip, the Cascades started strong. With just six minutes on the clock, Cascades’ Katie Lampen was able to put the ball past Alberta’s goalkeeper. After Cascades’ Bryana Buttar applied pressure in the offensive zone, a fortunate turnover left Lampen within scoring range. Aiming for the top of the net, Lampen’s shot was just out of the reach of Alberta’s goalkeeper.
Following Lampen’s early goal, both teams fought on in an evenly matched event. With over three quarters of regulation already on the clock, the Cascades were able to add to their lead. Simi Lehal was awarded a free kick 30 yards away from the net. Despite the distance, Lehal was able to strike the ball past the Alberta defenders and goalkeeper.
With a 2-0 lead late in the game, the Cascades looked like they would be taking home the win; however, the Pandas continued to play until the last whistle. After only three minutes of play since Lehal’s goal, the Pandas’ Aly Parth was awarded a free kick from close. With little time to guess, Cascade goalkeeper Joven Sandhu dove the opposite way of the shot.
With the Pandas gaining momentum from their goal, they began applying pressure to the Cascades. After a corner kick came in the offensive zone for the Pandas, a scramble in front of the Cascades net led to the ball at the feet of Nicole Palladino. Standing just feet from the goal line, Palladino snuck the ball past Sandhu, tying the game. After Palladino’s late-game goal, the score remained at 2-2.
With one loss and one tie over the weekend, the Cascades are returning home to try and recapture the momentum they gained during their previous weekend at home. Their next games will see them host the UBC Thunderbirds and UVIC Vikes on Sept. 27 and Sept. 28, respectively.
Image: UFV Athletics
