A Pair of Clean Sheets

Women’s Sunday Soccer Recap

VIU Mariners 3 – Langara Falcons 0

This was battle for first place early on in the schedule with these two programs coming in unbeaten.  They showed how evenly matched they are in the first half as neither team was able to score.

The second half, however, was much different.  In the 58^th minute Mary Nicholls was awarded a free kick in the Falcons end right in the middle of the field.  She unleased a frozen rope perfectly placed shot over the outstretched hand of the Falcons keeper, just grazing the crossbar and wound up in the back of the net.  It was a pretty looking goal that would stand up as the game winner.

In the 61^st minute the Mariners stuck off again off a corner kick.  With the ball loose in the crease Avery Henderson located it and slammed it home to put the visitors in front by a pair.  They would ice the game in the 80^th minute when Jade Dillabough displayed an excellent individual effort and was rewarded. She eventually got free from the defenders and took a shot that keeper Kate Bonozew misplayed badly that ended up in the net.

It's the fourth straight win for the Mariners to open the season.  Keeper Kaiden Thorpe passed every test directed her way to finished with the clean sheet.  

Douglas Royals 6 – Capilano Blues 0

After opening the season with three straight losses, all the Royals needed apparently was the friendly confines of Towne Centre Park because Sunday they found their scoring touch…well Isabelle Dobbin certainly did.

She got the party started in the 11^th minute with a goal that would turn out to be the game winner.  Ashlynn Grim sent a corner kick just off the fingertips of the leaping Blues keeper to the waiting Dobbin on the far side of the net to tap it in for the goal.

The Royals added to their lead in the 23^rd minute when Chiara Lucarelli got the ball into the crease, making a couple of nifty moves around the defender before picking the top right corner in the back of the net on a highlight reel goal.  The Royals carried the 2-0 lead into the break.

Dobbin went back to work in the second half, scoring a pair of goals nine minutes apart.  In the 61^st minute Anna Klaver-Valdez led the rush and carried the ball from midfield on the right side all the way to the crease before crossing a beautiful ball to Dobbin in the middle of the field who just needed to redirect into the back of the net.  Dobbin gets credit for the goal, but Klaver-Valdez did all the heavy lifting and earned an assist.  Then in the 70^th minute Dobbin is fed a gorgeous ball in the middle of the field past the defender and needed only to battle with the keeper before finding herself all alone in the crease and tallied the gimme.

In the 77^th minute the Royals continued to pour on the goals as the rain continued to pour on the pitch.  The home side displayed a pretty passing play that Jessica Parks benefitted from getting a clear shot at the net and buried it.

In the 86^th minute Dobbin struck for her fourth goal of the game. With the Blues unable to clear the ball from their own end, Dobbin was given an unguarded turnaround shot at the top of the box and showed a tremendous left foot placing it just underneath the crossbar. 

The six Royals goals are the largest output of any PACWEST team to this point of the season