The University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team wrapped up a productive trip to the B.C. Interior with a 3-0 victory over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Sunday afternoon in Kamloops.
The Cascades, coming off a 2-0 triumph over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Saturday, picked up their third straight win via shutout, with Emily Harold earning the clean sheet.
Monika Levarsky, Sunayna Samra and Simi Lehal supplied the goals for UFV, and Danica Kump registered two assists en route to game MVP honours.
The Cascades improved to 4-1-2, which gives them sole possession of third place in the highly competitive Pacific Division. Thompson Rivers (1-5-0) is seventh in the Pacific.
“We played much better than yesterday – it was a much more positive performance, and we created a lot of chances,” UFV head coach Rob Giesbrecht said. “Some inefficiency around the goal cost us in the first half, but we scored some good goals.”
Simi Lehal of the Cascades goes up for a header against TRU keeper Alyssia Smith. (Andrew Snucins photos)
The Cascades were unable to find the back of the net for the first half-hour despite dominating possession, but the floodgates opened in the 35th minute.
Levarsky got UFV on the board, finishing off a feed from Kump from close range. It was the first goal of the season for the third-year striker, who paced the Cascades and tied for third in Canada West with seven goals in 2015.
“She’s such an important attacking presence for us, and we were confident the goals were going to come,” Giesbrecht said of Levarsky, who despite being snakebit in the goal-scoring department prior to Sunday had still been a major offensive contributor with five assists (second-most in Canada West). “She gets to good areas, and she’s had a lot of assists this year.”
Fifth-year midfielder Samra notched her first of the season just two minutes after Levarsky’s tally, curling a picture-perfect corner kick inside the far post.
UFV’s Amanda Carruthers pushes the ball up the pitch with a TRU defender in pursuit.
The Cascades had several chances to expand the lead – Amanda Carruthers was robbed by TRU keeper Alyssia Smith in first-half injury time, and Kump sent a long cross from Kara Delwo off the post early in the second half.
Lehal put the game out of reach in the 57th minute with her second goal of the season. Kump came streaking down the left wing and chipped a short cross into the path of Lehal, who put her 5’11” frame to great use on the close-range header.
The Cascades out-shot the WolfPack 23-9 and had a 12-3 edge in corner kicks. Harold, making her first appearance of the season, picked up the shutout.
“She managed her penalty area really well, and looked really confident,” Giesbrecht said.
The Cascades return home for games against the UNBC Timberwolves on Friday and the Alberta Pandas on Saturday at MRC Sports Complex. Both games kick off at 5:30 p.m.
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