Horns late push falls short

One wild and entertaining finish wasn’t quite enough to earn the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns their second win of the season.

The Pronghorns were edged 2-1 by the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in Canada West men’s soccer action Saturday afternoon at the University of Lethbridge Stadium.

Trailing 2-1 after Stephen Primeau pulled the hosts to within one with his goal in the 66th minute, the Pronghorns pressed hard in the dying minutes that included a penalty kick, a close-in header that was turned aside and a partial break from Andrew Primeau that forced Cascades goaltender David Hicks to make a diving save.

But after full and stopped time, the Cascades earlier two goals in the 41st and 50th minutes were enough to secure the win that drops the Pronghorns to 1-6-2 on the season.

“These kids never give up, so that’s a credit to them,” said Pronghorns head coach Randy Bardock. “I think we have to find a way to have that level of

intensity for 90 minutes. If we do that, the sky’s the limit for them.”

In the first half, the teames were tied 2-2 on the shot clock depsite the Cascades having nine shot attempts compared to the Pronghorns three.

With 23 minutes to go, the Horns got on the board when Point du Jour found Stephen Primeau inside the penalty area, who hit the low corner for his second of the seaosn.

“We kept stronger and stronger as the game went on,” said Bardock. “Unfortunately

on the second goal, the guy that crossed it was the most surprised guy on the field. But that happens. They battled back and I loved how aggressive we were in the 18yard-box, which is something we’ve been talking about for a long time.”

“There are so many positives to take from this, we’re getting better every time out,” said Bardock. “We’ve got guys playing out of position and we’re dealing with a lot of things and they’re fantastic about it. That’s all I ask.”

The Pronghorns had the chance to pull even in the 78th minute on a free kick, but Hicks turned aside the shot to keep his team up by one.

In the final minutes the Primeau hooked up as Stephen sent Andrew in on a partial break, but Hicks was equal to the task one more time, diving to his right to keep the ball out.

“It’s what you expect of these guys, we’re a resilient group,” said Point du Jour. “We’ve been bouncing back all season, it’s kind of been the story. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a

better result tomorrow.”

The Pronghorns continue their weekend homestand this afternoon when they UNBC Timberwolves come calling to the U of L Stadium at 2:15 p.m.

“One thing I always say as far as soccer goes and in general is always have short memory about everything, the good, the bad, just forget about what happened and move on,” said Point du Jour. “You know what you can do and just look forward to the next challenge.”

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