The Spartans (2-1-1), who came into the match after playing three straight NCAA Division I teams including a 2-0 win at the University of Cincinnati on Thursday, got on the scoreboard in the 17th minute when Lindsay Rohla slipped a through ball to Dana DuMerton, who finished off the play with a shot past MVNU senior goalkeeper Melissa Peters into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Trinity Western increased its lead to 2-0 in the 27th minute when Whitney Agassiz sent a long through ball to Daniela Gerig, who had made a run behind the Lady Cougars’ back line. Gerig capitalized on the breakaway opportunity by beating Peters to finish off the play.

The score remained that way until the 82nd minute when Kassi Plummer headed in a cross from Rebecca Ferguson to extend the lead to 3-0 for the Spartans.

MVNU did have several scoring opportunities in the match, but were just unable to find the back of the net. Trinity Western out-shot the Lady Cougars 15-8, but only 6-5 in shots on goal. MVNU also held a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. Freshman forward Jessica Estep had three shots on goal for the Lady Cougars, while freshmen midfielders Bekah Blankenship and Challyn Dobson each had a shot on goal.

Peters and freshman goalkeeper Jenessa Loewen each played a half in goal for MVNU with Loewen notching three saves in the second half. Lauren Chartrand stopped five shots in a winning effort for the Spartans, who were the 2006 Canada West champions.

“For the first match of the season and with a lot of transition in our roster, I saw some positive things and a lot of things that we need to work on to get better,” said MVNU head coach Jonathan Meade. “We will work on the areas that need improvement and hopefully each match we will get better. We definitely have some talented players, but with a lot of new ones it takes a little time to get everyone on the same page and getting the chemistry and the responsibilities down. Some of the new players are learning a new system and a new style, and some of our returners have new positions.”

“We definitely had some chances to score against Trinity Western,” added Meade. “We were not totally dominated and had some great opportunities. That’s what we want. We want to continue to create those opportunities so that we can have the chance to win. It’s just the first match and we’ll move forward. I’m glad that we have a lot of soccer left in the season to reach our potential.”

The Lady Cougars will look to regroup and get on the winning side of the ledger when the team travels to Oregon for two matches starting with a 4:00 p.m. PST match at Corban College on Tuesday. Then, MVNU will travel to Concordia University, which is ranked third in the NAIA preseason poll, for a 4:00 p.m. PST match on Thursday.