WSOC: Molby, TWolves keep playoff hopes alive in 2-0 win over TRU
The University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves knew anything less than a victory against the TRU WolfPack would end their Canada West playoff hopes, and played like a desperate team, earning a hard-fought 2-0 victory over the visitors on Friday, October 19, 2018.
Brooke Molby, who was slated to back up keeper Madi Doyle in this game, found out after warmup that she’d be between the pipes, and the native of Squamish proved to be the difference.
“Julia sent in a nice cross, and we were all forward,” said Volk. “It just so happened that I came in and got my head on the ball, just like we’ve been working on in training. My whole team was there to support me and celebrate, so it was pretty cool.”
Both teams traded opportunities for much of the first half, but it was Molby and Robertson keeping their respective sides in it, making a number of saves. In the 45th minute, the TWolves looked to add to their advantage on a free kick that found the head of Hannah Emmond, but her header rolled just wide, wrapping up the first half of play.
TRU would turn up the pressure at that point, testing Molby with good looks from Natalie Verdiel, Camryn Curtis, and Shae Fuoco but to no avail.
UNBC looked to absorb in from that point on, and again, Molby was the story. The second-year keeper kept a Marisa Medonca opportunity out, along with a header off a corner from Rittinger, much to the disbelief of the WolfPack bench.
When the final whistle blew, Molby made nine saves for a massively important clean sheet, while her counterpart, Robertson, was terrific with 14 saves on 16 shots.
The win keeps UNBC’s postseason hopes alive, improving their record to 2-8-3. The Wolfpack drop to 3-9-1. The Timberwolves need a win over UBCO on Sunday, along with a TRU loss to MacEwan to qualify for the playoffs. If the WolfPack win, and the UBCO-UNBC match ends in a draw, TRU will qualify.
“We are going to take some positives from this game, and continue to work on our mentality,” said Volk. “Keeping the ball, possessing, and going forward. It will be a new game. This was awesome, but we focus tomorrow on training, because it is a new challenge against a new team.”