VICTORIA –
Talia Gagnon made eight saves as the UBC Okanagan Heat women's soccer team clinched a playoff spot thanks to a 0-0 draw with the Victoria Vikes on a rainy Friday evening at Centennial Stadium.
Gagnon, a native of Dieppe, N.B., was particularly strong in the opening half, making six saves as the host Vikes outshot the Heat 9-2. Her best in the half came in the 29
th minute when she made a diving save just moments after a wild scramble in the Heat box off a Victoria corner.
She would continue to shine in the second half, making two more saves, including a big save in the 58
th minute off a hard shot from Ruby Nicholas of Quesnel, B.C., to pick up her third clean sheet of the season.
On the other end of the pitch, Kayley Lindstone of Victoria, earned the shutout as she made two stops, both in the opening 45 minutes, denying the Heat's
Alyssa Scott of North Vancouver, B.C., and
Abigail Taneda of West Kelowna, B.C.
The draw, combined with Mount Royal's victory over Thompson Rivers, clinched the Heat their second consecutive Canada West playoff berth. UBCO (6-5-2) sits three points back of the Vikes (6-2-5) for third place in the Pacific division with one game remaining for both teams.
The Heat will wrap up their regular season on Sunday, October 20 when they battle the Mount Royal Cougars (4-6-3) in Calgary. UBCO needs a win, combined with the Victoria loss, to have a chance of securing the third seed in the Pacific division for the second straight year.
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. Pacific and can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv.
