CALGARY – The UBC Okanagan Heat women's soccer team saw their playoff run come to an end in the Canada West Quarter-finals on Friday evening as they fell 1-0 to the U SPORTS No. 7-ranked Calgary Dinos at Dinos Field.
Taking on the top-ranked team in the Canada West Prairie division this season, the Heat gave the Dinos all they could handle as the two teams battled for 90 minutes on a cold evening on the prairies.
The difference in the match came in the 29
th minute when rookie midfielder Isabella Burtini of Delta, B.C., headed a cross past Heat keeper
Talia Gagnon of Dieppe, N.B.
The Heat's best chance to equalize came just moments after Calgary's goal when midfielder
Annika Gross of Kelowna, B.C., fired a hard shot from long range but it was stopped by Dinos keeper Katie French of Calgary.
Gagnon was strong between the pipes all game for the Heat as she gave her team every opportunity to earn a result. She finished the match with six saves, including a couple big stops early in the match.
French finished with three saves for Calgary.
"We had a great performance tonight," commented Heat head coach
Craig Smith following the match. "The conditions were very tough for the team but I'm delighted with the process and the competitiveness that we displayed."
The game marks the final in the Heat career for
Alyssa Scott of North Vancouver, B.C.,
Sophie Campbell of Surrey, B.C., and
Holly Tarves of North Vancouver, B.C., who are all set to graduate this year. All three players played the full 90 minutes against Calgary with Scott finishing with three shots and two shots on goal, while Campbell had one shot.
The Dinos now advance to host the Canada West Final Four next weekend which will determine this year's Canada West Champion and the teams that will advance to the U SPORTS Championship in Halifax.
