Pilots Edge Bobcats To Land On Top

(OTTERBURNE) – Providence emerged victorious as the top two women’s soccer teams in the MCAC met in Otterburne on the final day of the regular season, with first-place up for grabs.

After an eye-catching series of passes by the Bobcats ended in a goal-saving block by Laurianne Chaisson (Victoria, BC) at one end of the field, two Pilots’ seniors responded immediately at the other end, linking up in the 32^nd minute to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Anna Temple (Yarrow, BC) carved out an inch of space and delivered a perfect pass to Paige Heide (Steinbach, MB) in front of goal for her 9^th of the season.

Brandon found their first goal five minutes later. After the visitors forced a Providence turnover deep in the Pilots’ half, the ball spilled to Shanti Church who, despite being 35 yards from goal, tried her luck. Clearing the outstretched fingers of a rapidly retreating Bella Geith (Winnipeg, MB), Church’s strike slipped under the crossbar and into the Pilots goal to even the match 1-1.

Chaisson secured the victory for the Pilots at the stroke of halftime. As both teams began to listen for the referee’s whistle to end the first 45 minutes, the Providence left winger caught Josephine Black off her line, drilling in the match-winner from 25-yards out. The goal was Chaisson’s second of the season.

Down 2-1, the Bobcats did all they could to find another equalizer in the second half. Two minutes after the restart, Kylie van de Woestyne’s effort gave the host’s a scare when her shot from the edge of the 18-yard box, bounced off the Pilots’ crossbar. Late on, Tarin Ballan charged past two Providence defenders and challenged Geith from 12 yards out, shooting hard, low and labeled for the bottom corner. The Providence backstop dove to her left to make the save and held tightly to the rebound; the most critical of her 10-stop performance.

Before the match, Providence Athletics recognized five Pilots’ seniors, playing in the final home match of their college careers: Jordyn Briggs (Langley, BC), Ava Temple, Paige Heide, Julia Herperger (Calgary, AB) and Kayla Miller (Altona, MB).

With the win, Providence finishes the MCAC regular season on 30 points, coming from 10 victories with only 2 defeats, ensuring the Pilots first-place and the title of, ‘top-seeded team’ when they enter the conference playoffs next weekend. The Pilots will tackle the defending MCAC champions, USB Rouges (4-0-8) in Saturday’s first semi-final at Winnipeg’s Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex.