WINNIPEG – A chess match for possession in the mid-field would be cracked open late in the first as the Manitoba Bisons rallied past the UNBC Timberwolves 3-0 on a cold and gloomy Friday evening at West Turf Field.
Manitoba would improve their record to a solid 2-5, while UNBC would fall to 0-5 on the season.
Manitoba was led by forward
Janelle Chomini, as she continues to have an excellent season for the Bisons. She would score two of the three Bisons goals, including a flashy bar-down goal in the 86
th minute that put the nail in the coffin. She leads the team with three goals on the year, good for a tie for fifth in the conference.
Karina Bagi recorded her eighth shutout, putting her in a three-way tie for second in program history.
The victory was well deserved for Manitoba, who've been in three one-goal games this season, including against 6-0 MacEwan.
"We knew it was coming," said Chomini. "The first couple of games were tough obviously, really close, but we went into this game so positive and so ready. You can't control everything. We just focused on what we could control and left it all out on the field."
UNBC would be led by forward Camryn Cline, as she had the Timberwolves closest attempts – finishing the game with two shots and a handful of hustle plays that got her teammates involved deep in the Bisons zone.
Manitoba's Chomini would be the one to put the Bisons on the board after a slow start – rocketing one home in the 37
th minute off a beautiful pass up the middle from midfielder
Taryn Cabak.
Shortly after, UNBC would fumble for possession in their box on a shot by Manitoba's
Chloe Morin, resulting in an own goal in the 45
th minute that would push Manitoba up 2-0 going into halftime.
UNBC would increase their offensive output in immediate response to Manitoba's first-half lead – coming out of halftime and launching their first two shots of the game – narrowly missing the net on both occasions.
Despite UNBC's best efforts, Manitoba would lock it down on defence and pick up another goal following a brilliant free kick from
Jessica Tsai, which was tapped in by Chomini on a loose ball to thwart any legitimate threat by the Timberwolves.
"You can never go wrong with Jess Tsai setting set pieces," added Chomini. She's phenomenal. The ball just happened to be in the right place at the right time and I buried it."
Manitoba returns tomorrow for their next game against UBC at Investors Group Field at 6 pm.
