Box Score WINNIPEG – On a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Manitoba Bisons and Regina Cougars battled to a 0-0 draw in women's soccer on Sunday, September 18 at the Turf Fields (West Side).
With the tie, the Cougars moves to 1-1-2 record and in third place in the Prairie Division with five points while the Bisons are now 1-2-1 mark and tied for fourth in the same division.
Both teams were looking for a crucial 'W' and had several chances throughout the match but could not capitalize.
The best opportunity was from the home side as Bison fifth year forward Selina Speranza found an open Bison third year forward Bruna Maviginer in the six yard box but she could only get a touch on the ball and Huskies' goalie Ashley Lowry made the close-in save with less than eight minutes left in the second half.
After a scoreless half that saw the visitors with more of the possession with several free kicks and corner kicks, the Bisons almost sneaked a goal right at the end of the first 45 minutes as Bison second yard forward had a left footed chance in close but shot just wide.
In the second half, Saskatchewan had a couple scoring chances with third year forwards Brianna Wright and Nikita Senko but Bison second year goalkeeper Maddie Wilford was equaled to the task and kept a clean sheet for the hosts. With only two minutes left, midfielder Regina Karlee had a last opportunity in the six yard box but shot wide.
In team totals, Regina had six corner kicks to Manitoba's three while Manitoba had 17 shots to Regina's 16.
Both goalies earned their second shutout of the 2016 Canada West regular season as Lowry made four saves in the contest and Wilford had ten.
"I like the way we played and we were way better in keeping the ball in this game," said Bison women's soccer head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas after the match. "We created numerous chances but could not put the ball in the net. The postive is that we had a clean sheet and overall we defended well."
The next matches for both teams occur on the September 24-25 weekend. Regina stays on the road as they travel to Mount Royal (Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. MT) and MacEwan (Sept. 25 at 12 p.m. MT). Manitoba is also on the road as they play at Lethbridge (Sept. 24 at 12 p.m. MT) and at Calgary (Sept. 25 at 12 p.m. MT).
Notes: Last season, Manitoba defeated Regina 2-1 on the road (Sept. 13/15) and 1-0 at home (Oct. 24/15). Manitoba had defeated Regina in the last three conference regular season games prior to this match
