by Justin Orlewicz (Sports Editor)
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s soccer team defeated the University of Regina Cougars, 2-0, to improve their Canada West regular season record to 6-5-1 for 19 points and a tie with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for fourth place in Canada West. There are only two regular season matches remaining, both of which take place next weekend.
The Cascades will host the University of Calgary Dinos, on Saturday October 30, and University of Lethbridge Pronghorns on Sunday October 31 at Bateman Park. The Cascades are in a three-way battle with Saskatchewan and Calgary for the fourth and final Canada West postseason berth. Chantelle Biagioni, of Pitt Meadows, made the key saves when she was called upon to preserve the victory and earn her sixth league win of the year and fourth shutout of the season. The Cascades defense did not allow a goal all weekend, lowering the team’s goal against average to 1.33 for the season. “Chantelle was a calming presence in goal, and Lyndsay (Munro) again did a great job anchoring our back four,” said UFV head coach Rob Giesbrecht.
The men’s soccer team wouldn’t be as lucky, as the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds defeated the UFV Cascades men’s team 6-2, at Bateman Park. The loss drops their regular season record to 3-9-0 for nine points. That is good for sixth place in the conference.
The UFV Cascades men’s basketball team defeated the Portland Bible College Wildcats, 81-62, in their final exhibition non-conference game before opening up the 2010-11 Canada West regular season, next Friday, at home, against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The Cascades finished the exhibition season with a 7-3 record. Sam Freeman, of Coquitlam, scored 25 points to lead the Cascades, while Joel Friesen, of Abbotsford, added 22 points in the victory. James Elliott, native of Perth, Australia, pulled down 13 total rebounds, as the Cascades out rebounded the Wildcats 49 to 25. The Wildcats came out strong and led by 4 points after the first quarter, 20-16. In the second quarter, the Cascades put on a defensive display that head coach Barnaby Craddock hopes will carry on into the regular season, as UFV held PBC to three second-quarter points. The Cascades would out score PBC 24-3 in the quarter to go into the intermission up by 17 points. In the second half, UFV would continue to build on the lead and lead by as many as 20 points before closing out the preseason with a 19 point victory.
The Cascades women’s rowing team earned the Bronze Medal at the 2010 Western Canadian University Rowing Championships, held at the Fort Langley Rowing Club. The Cascades earned 4 team points, while the champion University of Victoria earned 19 points and the Silver went to UBC with 15 points. Courtenay Landsiedel, a third year Mathematics major from Abbotsford, came in second place in the Women’s Open race to earn four points for UFV’s women’s team. “Courtenay [Landsiedel] rowed some incredible races,” said UFV Head Coach Liz Chisholm. “She has such a head for competing and has built some solid strength; she is looking forward to competing at nationals in two weeks.”
