Vanessa Kovacs had great reason to jump for joy Saturday on her home pitch at Rogers Field in Langley.
Kovacs scored twice in the final five minutes of the opening half, carrying the CIS No. 2-ranked Spartans (1-1-0) to a 3-1 win over the visiting Victoria Vikes (0-2-1).
For last season’s CIS national finalist Spartans, it was the finish to an opening weekend of Canada West play that they needed after suffering a 2-0 home-field loss the previous evening against the visiting UBC Thunderbirds (2-1-0).
“Vanessa was obviously special tonight,” Spartans head coach Graham Roxburgh said. “Not just the fact that she scored two goals, but her work rate.”
TWU’s loss to UBC, fuelled by a pair of goals by Amrit Berar, was its first home loss after 15 straight wins, a streak dating back to September of 2013.
Also on Saturday, CIS No. 7-ranked Fraser Valley (1-0-1) remained undefeated on the young season, beating visiting UBC 2-1 as Jade Palm headed home the winner in the second half. Monika Levarsky had opened the scoring for the Cascades in the 14th minute. Shayla Chorney was able to equalize for UBC.
Fraser Valley had opened the season Friday with a scoreless home draw against Victoria.
“Yesterday we felt we let one get away,” said UFV head coach Rob Giesbrecht of the draw. “To play a very good opponent in UBC and get the result, it just speaks to the character the girls have and their ‘whatever-it-takes’ mentality.”
*In non-conference men’s action Friday in Seattle, the host Washington Huskies beat the UBC Thunderbirds 1-0 in a battle of teams ranked No. 6 in their respective associations. James Nosack scored in the 72nd minute for the NCAA Div. 1 Huskies.
“I think we leave here tonight a better team than before,” UBC head coach Mike Mosher, whose team is ranked No. 6 in CIS.
*The SFU Clan women’s team remained undefeated on the season against NCAA foes, getting a goal from Olivia Aguiar early in the second half Saturday to defeat host Hawaii Pacific 1-0 at Hilo.
“I’m very happy for the girls to have come all the way here and stay undefeated (2-0-1) on the season because winning on the road is not easy,” said Clan head coach Annie Hamel. The Clan opens GNAC play Sept. 19 at Seattle Pacific.
GNAC FOOTBALL
A malfunction of the statistical system at Western Oregon University on Saturday prevented us from publishing final stats from the SFU Clan’s 31-14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference season-opening loss to the host Wolves.
Clan quarterback Ryan Stanford was 33-of-54 for 333 yards, throwing one touchdown pass against two interceptions.
Stanford had competitions to 10 different receivers, including Justin Buren, who had seven catches for 87 yards and finished with 154 all-purpose yards.
Josh Hayden finished with 167 all-purpose, rushing for 80 yards and one score, and adding another 87 through the air with another score.
On the day, SFU outgained Western Oregon 442 yards to 294.
However after building a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter, the Clan finished the game giving up the final 25 points of the game unanswered.
SFU plays its home opener Saturday (6 p.m.) at Swangard Stadium against Azusa Pacific.
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