Jordan Hall saw the shot coming and made the right call to jump out in the crease to try to catch it.
The ball had other ideas.
With the UNBC Timberwolves nursing a 1-0 goal lead, a mere four minutes away from defeating the Lethbridge Pronghorns for their first CIS Canada West win of the season Friday night, the soccer gods were not in the T-wolves' favour.
Having already been denied by a scintillating save by Hall earlier in second half, with time running out, Pronghorns midfielder Nikki Furukawa got the full power of her right leg into her free kick from the left side 40 yards away. The ball caught the wind and floated in off the fingertips of Hall and the T-wolves were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie.
"It sucks, we played so well this game and had a lot of chances to score more than one game. We pushed the whole game," said Hall, 21, now in her fifth and final season playing goal for UNBC.
"We had most of the possession for both halves and they got a lucky free kick and capitalized on my mistake. It hurts, just because we've come so close (to winning) so many times. A tie is good but we were really looking for a win and we had it within our grasp."
The deadlock left UNBC winless at 0-5-2 and Lethbridge walked off North Cariboo Field with a 2-2-3 record, knowing they'd spoiled an otherwise remarkable evening for UNBC.
"I was looking for my teammates, I knew if it didn't go in they'd pick it up, but luckily floated it over and got it over the goalkeeper's fingers," said the 21-year-old Furukawa, who has scored three of her team's six goals this season.
"It was a rough game, very physical."
The game began with a stiff wind blowing in from the north, which made for frigid conditions on the field. The T-wolves won the coin toss and had the wind at their backs for the first half and used that to their advantage, dominating ball possession and keeping the Pronghorns pinned in their own zone for much of the opening 45 minutes.
They finally capitalized 33 minutes in. Madison Emmond spotted third-year midfielder Ashley Anderson in the centre of the field just inside the 18-yard box and fed her a perfect pass. Anderson took a second or two to gain control and launched a low shot in past Lethbridge goalie Micaela Stone. Anderson's first goal of the season put some wind in the sails of the T-wolves.
With Sydney Hall and Julia Babicz leading the charge, the T-wolves had success moving the ball up the field and tested Stone a few times before the half ended.
But Lethbridge reversed the trend for the first 10 minutes after the intermission and Jordan Hall had to be alert several times, winning footraces and leaping to pick the ball out of the air to deny her opponents.
Strong defence from UNBC backliners Tanya Grob and Rhianne Ferdinandi frustrated the Pronghorns numerous attempts to get the ball into the danger zone. Jordan Hall's best save came 18 minutes into the second half when she just managed to get her fist on Furukawa's labeled drive from 24 yards out.
UNBC had a couple of great chances at the other end later in the half but shot over the net.
UNBC head coach Andy Cameron liked the way his team played but didn't like the outcome. He thought the game was theirs to win.
"We're gradually getting more territorial play in the other half of the field and that's a sign of improvement and the program going forward," said Cameron. It was a tough way to give up a goal but we've got to suck it up and get ready to play on Sunday."
The T-wolves take on the first-place Calgary Dinos Sunday at noon at North Cariboo field in their last home game of the season. The UNBC men are on the field today and Sunday starting at 2:15 p.m. against the UBC Thunderbirds.
