Wild FC rally to 2-2 draw against Roses as Myna Jones comes off bench to score twice

Calgary WIld FC battled the Montreal Roses FC to a 2-2 draw Saturday getting 2 late goals from Myna Jones

A May long weekend snowstorm didn’t deter Mya Jones Saturday as she led the Calgary Wild FC to a spirited 2-2 draw against the Montreal Roses at McMahon Stadium.

Goalkeeper Katelin Talbert withstood relentless early pressure from the Roses to keep the game scoreless until the 24th minute, when Lisa Pechersky scored to give Montreal the lead.

Despite Montreal being on the attack throughout, Talbert was able to hold the deficit to a single goal until the a late substitution in the 73rd minute brought in Jones, who scored her first professional goal in the 85th minute to tie the score 1-1.

Montreal promptly restored its lead in the 90th minute when Claire Monyard scored, but Jones did it again, scoring in the 91st minute to tie the score at 2-2.

“It feels like a win for us,” said Wild FC head coach Sinead McSharry. “We talked a lot about how much ceiling we have this year. We haven’t been able to demonstrate it much, but it takes a collective and it’s just really cool to illustrate what this group is capable of,”

“We were really impressed with the group on what we tried to focus on this week,” McSharry added. “We were more organized defensively and that was a big improvement from the week before. We talk about progress over perfection.”

For Jones the stunning debut was made that much more special by the fact that it came in her hometown.

“It’s that much more special doing this in front of my family and friends,” Jones said. “Just considering the journey I’ve had in the past year, and a half has been kind of crazy, and I don’t think I could have written a better script with everybody who has gone through this journey with me being here to witness that.”.

“It wasn’t just about me. It was about everyone. The way I felt when I scored that goal – when the team came in – I looked at every single face, and everyone was crying. It’s bigger than football sometimes and I’m really thankful.”

Next up for the Wild: a home game against Halifax Tides FC on May 31 for Kids’ Day at 5 p.m. MT.

For more information about Wild FC, go here.