WINNIPEG – Bisons women's soccer hosted their annual Senior Night pregame ceremony against the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Saturday, honoring graduating students Abby Eggers, Kailyn Balfour and Chelsea Dubiel. The team celebrated the occasion with an emotional 2-0 win, sparked by super substitute goal-scorer Celeste Gallego.
To start the match, the Pronghorns generated an early chance through a Nicole Stahl corner kick that clattered against the crossbar from a Kayleigh Harris header.
The Herd responded by forcing Lethbridge goalkeeper Erin Gill into executing a phenomenal triple save on three close-range chances in succession to keep the Bisons at bay.
The Bisons thrust into the attack to start the second half by testing Gill with a skyward Stefanie Young header that dropped and needed intervention by the goalkeeper to tip over her bar.
With a surge of attacking momentum, Young attacked the goalmouth again minutes later, stepping around her marker and curling a low ball just wide of the far post.
At the 85th minute, the home side finally broke through courtesy of Gallego. Dalima Chhibber played in the forward, who picked the corner with her first touch. Relentlessly, Gallego struck again just two minutes later, picking the top corner on a breakaway to convert her second goal of the match.
The third-year striker came off the bench with less than ten minutes remaining with the mindset to score and did just that.
"I just said okay, super sub it is," said Gallego. "As soon as I was in front of the net and got the ball, my mindset was just to finish."
Head coach Vanessa Martinez-Lagunas held the three graduating players in high regard. Eggers and Balfour came on as substitutes to make their final Bisons regular season appearances.
"They have given so much to this program – they are pioneers. We do not have enough words to thank them. We know they are going to achieve amazing things in life," said Martinez-Lagunas.
The Manitoba Bisons improve to 8-5-1 on the season and move temporarily past Alberta by two points for third place in the Canada West Prairie Division. The eight wins are their best mark since the 2008 season.
Alberta plays Saskatchewan in their regular season finale on October 20. The Pronghorns fall to 1-6-7.
