Three stars of the week: Pair of keepers earn first star honours
NEW WESTMINSTER – UBC Okanagan’s Mitch McCaw and the University of Regina’s Ashton Lowry are the Canada West male and female first stars of the week respectively for the week ending Sunday, Sept. 18.
Both keepers posted a pair of clean sheets over the weekend, as the UBCO Heat earned wins over Calgary (3-2) and Lethbridge (1-0), while the Regina Cougars picked up four of a possible six points on the road against Winnipeg (1-0) and Manitoba (0-0).
Also earning star honours this week were: Calgary’s Jorge Leon Gomez (male second star), Fraser Valley’s Gurneet Dhaliwal (female second star), Saskatchewan’s Greg Buckley (male third star), and Alberta’s Savanah Dubien (female third star).
Male first star – Mitch McCaw
UBCO Heat soccer
Goalkeeper
4th-year
Calgary, Alta.
Management
Game log: Saturday, Sept. 17 – five saves in a 3-2 W vs. Calgary / seven saves in 1-0 W vs. Lethbridge.
McCaw’s outstanding play in the net for UBC Okanagan allowed the team to earn six needed points in the middle of the Canada West men’s soccer schedule.
After allowing two goals in the first half against Calgary, McCaw closed the door on the Dinos and then Lethbridge, not letting another ball past him for the rest of the weekend.
Holding Calgary at two and turning aside seven shots set the stage for an exciting UBC Okanagan comeback win.
On Sunday, Lethbridge put the pressure on after UBCO went up 1-0 late in the game. McCaw made two brilliant saves in the final minutes to preserve the shutout and UBCO victory.
The Heat are on the road this weekend playing two games in Edmonton, Saturday at U of A and Sunday versus MacEwan.
Female first star – Ashton Lowry
Regina Cougars soccer
Goalkeeper
3rd-year
Calgary, Alta.
Kinesiology and Health Studies
Game log: Saturday, Sept. 17 – five saves in 1-0 W @ Winnipeg / Sunday, Sept. 18 – four saves in 0-0 D @ Manitoba.
Ashton Lowry stopped all five shots she faced to earn her first career Canada West win on Saturday, helping the Cougars to a 1-0 victory over the hometown Winnipeg Wesmen.
Perhaps her best play on Saturday didn’t go on the stat sheet as a save, but was crucial in preserving the Cougar lead. The third-year keeper came out of her net to catch a long cross in extra time, leaping above two Wesmen attackers to defuse any threat of an equalizer.
Lowry produced her second-straight clean sheet on Sunday, as the Cougars played the Manitoba Bisons to a scoreless draw. The Calgary, Alta. product stopped all four Bison shots that hit the net, but her strong positioning was critical in influencing 13 other Manitoba efforts to miss the goal.
Lowry and the Cougars will hit the road again next weekend, to take on the Mount Royal Cougars and Grant MacEwan Griffins.
Male second star – Jorge Leon Gomez
Calgary Dinos soccer
Midfield
4th-year
Calgary, Alta.
Science
Game log: Saturday, Sept. 17 – one assist in 3-2 L @ UBCO / Sunday, Sept. 18 – two goals in 4-2 W @ TRU.
The University of Calgary Dinos split their weekend series out west when they took on UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers on the road.
Fourth-year Jorge Leon Gomez tallied three points over the weekend. In the Dinos’ heartbreaking loss to the Heat in extra time, Gomez added an assist on the team’s second goal of the game. The following day, the midfielder scored two goals, including the game winner in the 4-2 win.
With a record of 4-2, the Dinos host UNBC and the Victoria Vikes Sept. 24 and 25.
Female second star – Gurneet Dhaliwal
Fraser Valley Cascades soccer
Forward
2nd-year
Surrey, B.C.
Science
Game log: Friday, Sept. 16 – one assist in 2-2 D vs. UBC / Saturday, Sept. 17 – two goals in 3-0 W vs. Victoria.
Gurneet Dhaliwal was an offensive catalyst for the University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team as they earned four of a possible six points on the weekend against a pair of nationally ranked opponents.
On Friday, Dhaliwal’s flawless corner kick found teammate Amanda Carruthers at the far post for an easy header, giving the Cascades a 2-0 lead over the CIS No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds. The reigning national champs would end up rallying to salvage a 2-2 draw. Then on Saturday, Dhaliwal scored the first two goals in the Cascades’ impressive 3-0 win over CIS No. 7 Victoria. The second-year forward from Surrey, B.C. is tied for second on the Canada West goal-scoring list, with all four of her goals coming in the past four games.
The Cascades (2-1-2, tied for third in the Pacific Division) are on the road this weekend to face the UBC Okanagan Heat on Saturday and the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Sunday.
Male third star – Greg Buckley
Saskatchewan Huskies soccer
Midfielder
4th-year
Saskatoon, Sask.
Arts and Science
Game log: Friday, Sept. 16 – five saves in 3-0 W @ UNBC / Sunday, Sept. 18 – two saves in 0-0 D @ UBC.
Fourth-year University of Saskatchewan goalkeeper Greg Buckley recorded back-to-back clean sheets to help the Huskies pick up an important four points on a B.C. road trip.
The Saskatoon, Sask. product made five saves in Friday night’s 3-0 victory over the UNBC Timberwolves as the Huskies notched their first win of the season. On Saturday, Buckley was solid in goal against the undefeated UBC Thunderbirds making a pair of saves to secure a point for Saskatchewan in a 0-0 draw.
The Huskies return home next weekend to face the Trinity Western Spartans and Fraser Valley Cascades.
Female third star – Savanah Dubien
Alberta Pandas rugby
Full back
2nd-year
Edmonton, Alta.
Campus St. Jean
Game log: Sunday, Sept. 18 – two tries in 39-33 W vs. Lethbridge.
University of Alberta Pandas rugby full back Savannah Dubien is this week’s female third star of the week after sparking Alberta’s entertaining season opening win over the weekend.
After falling behind 33-15 to the CIS No. 10 Lethbridge Pronghorns, the Alberta Pandas mounted an astonishing comeback, scoring four tries in the final two minutes to win 39-33, based largely off the play by the Pandas sophomore full back.
Dubien scored Alberta’s second try of the match in the 27th minute of the first half. After quick ball movement from the Pandas, Dubien found a hole in the Pronghorns back-line, and raced to goal from 25 yards out.
Alberta fell behind by 18 late in the second half, but Dubien cut the lead to just 13 with her second score of the match on another long run along the sideline. The Edmonton product was also instrumental in stopping the Pronghorns attack in the second half, stopping numerous Lethbridge runs.
Dubien and the undefeated Pandas return to action on September 30h when they travel to Victoria to take on the 1-0 Vikes.
