SOC: Spiess, Mwasalla provide boost in final weekend

VANCOUVER - Fraser Valley's Tobias Spiess and MacEwan's Grace Mwasalla were named Canada West Soccer Players of the Week on Tuesday after helping their teams notch key victories during the final weekend of the regular season.

With the UFV Cascades needing a win earn a post-season berth, Tobias Spiess was up to the task on Sunday as the first-year defender scored a both goals in Fraser Valley's 2-1 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat.

Spiess scored in the 58th minute and tallied again in the 76th minute as the Nuremberg, Germany native's second and third goals of the year could not come at a better time for Fraser Valley.

The win was the last hurdle to making the post-season for the Cascades, who also won on Saturday, as they needed the full six points from the weekend in order to continue their season.

Fraser Valley (4-3-5) finished the 2021 campaign in third place in the West Division and will now travel to Edmonton to take on Alberta (4-1-5) in a Canada West Quarter-final, after the Golden Bears took second spot in the Central Division. The match is set for 2:00 p.m. MDT on Friday, October 29 and can be seen live on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.

Game log:
Oct. 23 - 90 min, 1 shot in 1-0 W at UBCO
Oct. 24 - 2 goals (GW) in 2-1 W at UBCO

Grace Mwasalla helped the MacEwan Griffins lock up top spot in the Central Division, recording a goal and an assist in Sunday's 3-0 win over the Calgary Dinos.

The win, MacEwan's 10th of the season, kept the Dinos at bay in the second seed and meant the Griffins would host a Canada West Quarter-final, rather than hit the road for the start of the playoffs.

Mwasalla took over the game on Sunday scoring the opening goal of the match in the 8th minute, adding an assist in the 90th minute. The first-year midfielder from Chatham, Ont. also came up with a clutch defensive play that stopped the Dinos attack and led to the ball going the other way to set up MacEwan's second goal in the 68th minute.

The Griffins (10-2-0) host the third seed out of the West Division, the Fraser Valley Cascades (6-4-2) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 30. The Canada West Quarter-final can be seen live on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.

Game log:
Oct. 23 - 45 min, 1 shot in 4-0 L at CGY
Oct. 24 - 1 goal, 1 assist 3-0 W at CGY