The University of Regina Cougars women's soccer team fell 1-0 in a hard-fought Canada West match against the Alberta Pandas on Saturday afternoon.

The match's lone goal was scored in the 78th minute after a Cougar defender was whistled for a hand ball in the box.
Alberta captain Annalise Schellenberg stepped to the penalty spot and put a strike to the top-left corner past Cougar keeper Kacey McFee.

Both teams fought through chilly conditions and a strong wind to play very physical and defensive-minded soccer.

The Cougars defence, led by midfielders Karlee Vorrieter and Shayla Kapila (pictured), limited Alberta to only one shot on net other than the penalty.
McFee's only save came in the 77th minute, when she got a finger on a Paula Dadensky strike to tip the ball up and off the crossbar.

Alberta's defending was as good, with the Cougars only able to muster one shot on net. Vorrierter's long shot in the 49th minute was handled easily by Panda goalkeeper Kelti Biggs.

Regina's best chance of the match came in the 55th minute, when Veronica Boesch took a feed and hammered a shot from just outside of the box over the crossbar.

Cougar midfielders Kayla McDonald and Kapila both picked up yellow cards in the second half.

Regina moves to 1-2-0 with the result. Alberta improves to 1-1-1.

The Cougars are to play host to Mount Royal University on Sunday. Kick-off is scheduled for noon at the U of R Field.