Bison rookies shine in first-ever win
Scott, Kirkpatrick stellar in victory over Pronghorns
Amanda Laing, Staff
Photo by David Lipnowski
After a 3-3 tie on Friday, Sept. 9, three Bison rookies factored into a Sunday rematch, giving the U of M women’s soccer team its first win in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and Canada West conference history.
The win, a 2-0 victory, came against the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, Sept. 11 at University Stadium. With the victory, the Bisons moved to 1-0-1 on the season and took three of four points on the weekend, following a tie Friday night in their first regular season game.
The highlight of the Brown and Gold’s win was the play of first-year goalkeeper and Player of the Game Chera Kirkpatrick, who was unbeatable by the Horns.
“I was a little disappointed in the way that I played [on Friday]. I wasn’t coming out and challenging the ball, but today I felt like I got more hands on it and got more into the game,” said Kirkpatrick.
The U of L had several excellent scoring opportunities, including a shot in minute 47, where Kirkpatrick made a diving stop, and another at minute 75, where she made two sprawling saves in a row to keep her team in the game.
“Our goalkeeper was unbelievable. She made saves I couldn’t believe — upside down, backwards,” said Bison head coach Walt McKee. “She was fantastic today.”
The Pronghorns’ goalkeeper played a good game as well, preventing the Bisons from hitting the score sheet until late in the second half, when rookie Desiree Scott was able to break away from the Lethbridge defenders just over centre, succeeding on her third scoring opportunity of the morning.
Scott, whose style of play could be described in terms of a “bull in a china shop,” was kept quiet in the first half by the referee, who blew the whistle almost every time she went for the ball.
“I’m known to be really aggressive. That’s my style,” said Scott, who is also a member of the Canadian National under-20 soccer team and was a Bison Athlete of the Week for her preseason performance in August. “I think some of the calls were a little iffy.”
Another Brown and Gold rookie, Caley Miskimmin, put home the insurance marker late in the game when she deked out a Lethbridge defender to take the ball wide and put it into the far side of the net.
Friday night’s game saw rookie Dana Baker score the U of M’s first goal of its history and the herd’s third goal of the game. Striker Karlie Colpitts scored the other goal for the Bisons.
When asked how the win will prepare them for their upcoming schedule, Scott replied, “I think it’ll just get us pumped. We know we can win so we’ll just get prepared in the practices and come out to win.”
The Bisons will have time to prepare for their next conference action in Regina with an exhibition game scheduled for Sept. 17, 12 p.m., at University Stadium against a senior women’s team.
