Box Score Written by: John Gaudes

WINNIPEG - Getting a win and a leg up in the Duckworth Challenge is a nice enough Saturday night, getting a feel-good story on top of that is icing on the cake.

On Saturday, September 13th, the Manitoba Bisons women's soccer team came home and beat the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 2-0 at the University of Manitoba Turf Fields. Scoring the insurance goal was rookie Jasmine Flett, who saw the ball go in during her first run of CIS soccer action.

With the win, Manitoba moves to 2-1-0 while the Wesmen fall to 0-3-0.

Manitoba's go-ahead goal was scored by Selina Speranza, but Bisons head coach Vanessa Martinez Lagunas was quick to congratulate Flett.

"Great performance. Jasmine earned the opportunity to be on the roster today. She had an amazing training week and that shows that the competition on our team is strong and all our players are fighting for spots," said Lagunas.

Manitoba got assists from Daniella Scerbo and Bruna Mavignier.

Winnipeg was the first to punch, with a shot in the box just three minutes in. A pair of Bisons came in, though, to deflect the shot and turn momentum in their favour. Camille Plett had three promising break-ins in the first half, expertly finding herself behind the defence. At 35 minutes in, her best opportunity came on a Wesmen misplay - finding herself behind all defenders, she was tackled by Thorkellson at the last second.

Despite remaining scoreless, Manitoba dominated offensive possession for most of the first half and coupled that with a tight hold on the middle of their own box, keeping Winnipeg opportunities to a minimum.

"They shut down our attacks in the first half, but we created chances and weren't able to capitalize. We were all over their goal," said Lagunas.

Manitoba quickly changed that to start the second half. At the 50th minute, second-half substitution Selina Speranza used her remarkable speed to beat several defenders on a drive to the net - pitching it through to put Manitoba ahead. Lagunas was complimentary of Speranza's performance as well.

"Before the game, I was talking to Selina and telling her she needs to use her ability, use her speed. I wish I could be as fast as she is! She's also one of our most technical players and showed that in scoring her goal today."

Jasmine Flett added her goal in the waning moments, with just three minutes left on the clock. Hers came on a beautiful assist from Scerbo, pitching the ball high from her own net to midfield - leaving Flett with an undefended run-in for the goal.

The win gives Manitoba a 1-0 lead in the annual Duckworth Challenge. The Bisons swept the challenge last season, winning in women's soccer, then men's and women's volleyball and basketball. Manitoba holds a 12-6-5 record in the challenge's 23 year history. The next Duckworth Challenge matchup will be on January 29, 2015, when the volleyball squads go head-to-head.

The Bisons women's soccer team now head to the road for two weeks, playing one game next weekend against Grant MacEwan in Edmonton on Sunday, September 21st. Kick-off is 1 p.m. CST.

Written by: John Gaudes