For most of the game Sunday, Brooke Molby was the last line of defence for the UNBC Timberwolves women's soccer team.
With one exception.
That's when UNBC defender Ashley Volk saved the day for the Timberwolves with her goalline stand 30 minutes into their U Sports game at North Cariboo Fields against the UBC Okanagan Heat.
Volk saw that Molby was caught out of position with Heat forward Cassie Britton about to let go a shot from just outside the goal crease and got behind her goalkeeper and stuck out her leg to deflect the ball to teammate Mara McCleary, who booted it out of the danger zone.
"I thought that was in, but Ash was right there to have my back and I'm really grateful for her," said Molby.
It was a pivotal moment for the T-wolves, leading 1-0 at the time. They went on to beat the Heat 2-1 to improve to 2-0 and move into a three-way tie for first place in the Canada West Conference Pacific Division.
That's no mistake. The T-wolves, who went winless at 0-12-1 and scored just three goals in the entire 2016 season, are now a first-place team.
"I don't even know what this feels like, it seems a little surreal but there's still a lot of work to be done, so we just have to get ready for the next couple games," said T-wolves midfielder Madison Emmond, whose high rainbow from 25 yards out sailed in over the outstretched arms of Heat goalie Francesca Balletta for the game-winner, about three minutes before halftime.
"Credit to (the Heat), they did a good job in that last 10 or 15 minutes and got a goal and pressed us hard but Brooke helped us out a ton. She was getting that big body in there to help us a lot."
UNBC drew first blood 25 minutes into the game when Sidney Roy slid a pass over to Paige Payne of Kitimat and her low shot from the top of the box went in off the hands of goalie Balletta. Less than three minutes before the halftime whistle, Emmond lofted in her high shot – the first goal in four seasons for the 21-year-old Prince George native.
Molby, a 19-year-old rookie from Squamish, made six saves in her U Sports debut but seemed a lot busier than that trying to fend off the swarming Heat. The visitors from Kelowna dominated ball possession in the second half trying to chip away at the T-wolves' 2-0 lead and kept the ball in the UNBC zone for long stretches but Molby, who played for Mountain of Burnaby in the Vancouver High Performance League last year, was ready for them.
"In the second half they really picked it up and it was definitely tough for me, but the team really wanted the win and I wasn't going to let (the Heat) have it," said Molby.
There wasn't much she could have done to stop Heat midfielder Susan Traynor's perfectly-placed shot, high and inside the goalpost, from going in and cutting the lead in half, 78 minutes in. That made for a nervous ending for the T-wolves and their legion of fans, about 275 of them, who turned up on a cool summer afternoon to see if their team could hold the momentum it created in Friday's 4-0 win over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
"UBCO is a fantastic team but we scored two early and then we were able just to hang in at the end," said UNBC head coach Neil Sedgwick. 'It gave us a chance to put into live practice what we've been doing defensively and it gave us a chance against some really good competition to attack and find space.
"Brooke was fantastic and every time the ball went into the box it went into some solid hands. I don't think she dropped anything. She was solid off the back with the ball off her feet. It was a very good start for her."
The Heat was in offensive mode for much of the second half and aside from a couple of brief forays the other way, most of the final 45 minutes was played on the T-wolves' side of the field. Heat head coach Craig Smith certainly couldn't fault the effort of his team, now 0-2 to start the season.
"The girls were fantastic in the second half and just worked and worked - they hit the crossbar twice and I actually thought the first one in the first half might have been over the line," said Smith, through a thick Scottish accent.
"But fair play to UNBC, they've come so far and they're in a good spot and they worked hard too. Their keeper played very well. It was just a couple of mistakes from us and they punished us."
The T-wolves play at home again this weekend against Mount Royal (Friday, 5 p.m.) and Alberta (Sunday, 1:15 p.m.)
Vikes edge UNBC men
Saturday in Victoria, the UNBC men lost their first game of the season, 2-1 to the Victoria Vikes. Nick Graham and Keevan Webb scored for the Vikes. Brett Bobier had the T-wolves' goal.
"We set up to make sure the defensive end was right and I think we did that but our problem was that we kind of got a little bit lazy because of that," T-wolves head coach Steve Simonson told canadawest.org. "We lacked the conviction to pass and play and they won all the effort categories in the first half."
On Friday, the T-wolves topped the Vikes 2-0 in front of 3,300 fans. UNBC (2-1-3) is now tied for third in the Pacific with Thompson Rivers. In their next game the T-wolves host the Mount Royal Cougars, Friday at 8 p.m.
