The Cascades launched a stateside road swing with a 6-2 loss to the Eastern Washington Eagles on Friday, but turned in a stellar performance on Sunday, defeating the Idaho Vandals 2-1 in Moscow, Idaho.
Both opponents are NCAA Division I programs, and Sunday’s triumph was the first for UFV versus a Div. I side.
The Cascades struck for two early goals against Idaho. In the fourth minute, Jashan Sandhar (North Delta) made an assertive run down the right wing and found Kelsey Mitchell (Langley) for the finish. Shortly thereafter, Brittney Zacharuk’s (Delta) corner curled directly into the net to double the lead.
The game was divided into three 30-minute segments, and after UFV carried the play over the first half-hour, the Vandals mounted a strong push over the latter segments and got back to within a goal. But that was as close as they would get.
Cascades keeper Joven Sandhu (Surrey) had a big save in the early minutes while the game was still scoreless.
“Idaho is a good program – they’re athletic and well-coached, and they do well in the Big Sky conference,” Giesbrecht noted. “We want to play more D1’s in the future, and a win like this enhances our reputation and helps us get more games against tough opponents.”
The UFV roster includes Sardis secondary grads Mackenzie Silbernagel, Katie Lampen and Yasmina Enneddam.
See gocascades.ca for more.