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Burnaby talent abundant at Canada West soccer championships

Five local women medal on three separate teams at the Canada West conference women's soccer championships in Langley this weekend
Tom Berridge
Kayla Klim
University of the Fraser Valley goalkeeper Kayla Klim was named the Canada West conference community service award winner for the silver-medal-winning women's soccer teamcourtesy of Bob McGregor/Tree Frog Imaging

Burnaby’s Lindsey Pulice and Isabella Di trocchio will be looking for a third consecutive Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s soccer title.

The pair of third-year Trinity Western University varsity soccer players helped the program to its sixth Canada West conference title since 2001 and second in three seasons following a 2-1 win over the University of the Fraser Valley in Langley on Sunday.

Canada West rookie of the year Seina Kashima of Burnaby played the first 65 minutes of Trinity Western’s playoff-opening 3-1 win over the University of B.C. but was not listed on the roster for the Spartans’ semifinal or final matches.

Kashima, who was named a Canada West first team all-star, finished her freshman season with Trinity Western sixth in total scoring, with four goals and a second-best overall six assists.

Canada West MVP Jessica King scored the game-winning goal for the Spartans, beating Burnaby keeper Kayla Klim in the Fraser Valley net with a well-placed shot in the 61st minute in the gold-medal final.

Klim, who was the recipient of the Canada West student/athlete community service award, made nine saves and was named player of the game for the Cascades in the championship final.

“It’s definitely disappointing, Trinity coming out on top again,” said Klim in a school press release. “But we worked hard, and now the focus is next week.

“We’re going all in (at nationals). Our goal is to reach the top, and just keep working hard. We’ve proven ourselves this season, and it’s just time to keep proving ourselves.”

Klim posted her seventh shutout of the season in No. 10 Fraser Valley’s earlier 1-0 upset win over No. 7 Alberta in the Canada West semifinal match. The third-year keeper placed fourth in the conference this season with an .841 save percentage.

Another Burnaby goalkeeper Cara Santaga shared a first-ever Canada West medal with the University of Saskatchewan following the Huskies’ 2-0 victory over Alberta in the bronze-medal match at the Canada West championships.

Santaga made six saves in Saskatchewan’s 1-0 loss to Trinity Western in the semifinal. She finished fourth in the CanWest with a sparkling 0.70 goals against average and sixth-best .833 save percentage along with six shutouts.