The UNBC women's soccer squad will again extend their year past the regular season after clinching their third straight playoff appearance Friday night (Oct. 18).
Heading into their clash with Victoria last night, the Timberwolves needed a win that could clinch.
But that wasn't the result they got. They fell 1-0 to the Vikes, which meant they needed help in another match going on at the same time.
The UFV Cascades and TRU WolfPack were battling in Abbotsford. To clinch a postseason spot, the Timberwolves needed TRU to lose which would mathematically eliminate the WolfPack.
Nerves were high as Thompson Rivers University jumped out to a 2-0 lead under 25 minutes in.
Whether or not the Timberwolves were scoreboard watching, it wasn't what they would hope to see.
The Cascades came back with two goals of their own in an exact two-minute span to tie the game at twos.
And they didn't stop there. UFV added a third just before the half to take a 3-2 lead heading into the break.
The nail in the coffin came from the home side in the 77th minute to put UFV up 4-2 which meant the Timberwolves officially secured their berth in the 2019-20 postseason with their current record sitting at 3-6-4. They have one last regular season match tonight (Oct. 19) in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds.
PLAYOFFS! With @GoTRUWolfPack's loss tonight, your @UNBCWSoccer team is headed to the @CanadaWest playoffs for the third consecutive year!!! @UNBC take on @ubcwsoc tomorrow to finish off the regular season!! #gotwolves pic.twitter.com/hGMVHFGmN5
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) October 19, 2019
This isn't the first time UNBC needed help from TRU. Last season, they had to beat the WolfPack to keep their playoff hopes alive. They came out with a 2-0 win but the job wasn't done.
They would then have to beat the UBCO Heat to ensure a spot. They would score in the second half and take the 1-0 win and moved on.
Last season, the women needed a win.
It's been a season of ups and downs for the Timberwolves.
They started the season with two straight wins including a 1-0 win in their season opener, also against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack followed by a dominant 3-0 shutout of the UBC Okanagan Heat.
But from there, things started to take a tumble.
UNBC would suffer two straight losses to sit at .500 but would earn another 1-0 shutout against Lethbridge to put themselves at 3-2-0.
Since then, it's been:
- Tie
- Loss
- Tie
- Loss
- Tie
- Loss
- Loss
- Loss
Believe it or not, the three wins on the year set a UNBC program record for wins in a single season.
Last season, the program earned its first-ever Canada West playoff game by defeating the Manitoba Bisons in dramatic fashion in penalties. It was their second straight playoff appearance at the time.
Their cinderella season would end though after suffering a 3-1 loss to the top-seeded UBC Thunderbirds.
UNBC should know their first-round opponent after the finish of the regular season in the next few days.
