LETHBRIDGE - The No. 5 ranked UBC Thunderbirds clinched first place in the conference and will host the Canada West Final Four after drawing 1-1 Sunday afternoon against the Lethbridge Pronghorns at Community Stadium.
"We have to play some quality opponents to get a berth in the National Championships but it is nice to have the opportunity to play at home." said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher.
Marco Visintin's penalty shot goal in the 73rd minute was enough to give the single point they needed and assured the T-Birds of home field advantage in the Canada West playoffs. After striker
Sebastian Crema was pulled down in the box Visintin stepped to the spot and went right with his shot. 'Horns keeper Jordan Campbell guessed correctly but the shot had just enough as it caromed off both posts before inching across the line.
The Pronghorns, looking to upset two conference powerhouses, after their surprising win over Trinity Western yesterday, opened the scoring in the 29th minute.
A corner kick found the head of Brett Silbernagel who put the ball off the crossbar. The rebound came to Matt Medoruma who sent the ball into the open net.
The T-Birds struggled on offence in the early going but came close to leveling after a near-own goal by the 'Horns. A deflection off freshman midfielder Morgan Brownjohn's shin pad needed a diving save by Campbell to keep the home side ahead heading into halftime.
"We went into today using some reserves and they really stepped up well," added Mosher. "With a number of our regulars on the bench to start we didn't have the strongest first half but we improved as the game went on."
UBC 'keeper Elliot Usher did well to keep his side in the match, turning aside two Lethbridge scoring opportunities.
The T-Birds nearly equalized in the 51st minute off a corner kick.
Steve Johnson had a clear shot at the side of the goalmouth but his shot was blocked by 'Horns midfielder Andrew Malcolm.
The pesky Pronghorns refused to rollover and nearly snatched the full three points from the fifth ranked T-Birds in injury time.
A melee in the penalty area following a long throw-in left Andrew Malcolm with a chance on goal, but was turned away by a brilliant sliding tackle from defender
Joey Loreth.
The T-Birds found their offensive rhythm in the second half forcing Campbell into 7 saves. The Horns played defensively for much of the second and could only mustering two shots on target against a tightened UBC defence.
The draw moves the Horns' record to 2-7-5 while UBC heads into the playoffs at 10-3-1.
UBC now hosts the four team Canada West tournament with one berth at the CIS national tournament on the line as host Trinity Western are assured a spot.
The T-Birds face the Alberta Golden Bears in one semi-final on November 6th (7:30 p.m.) while the Spartans take on the Victoria Vikes in the other (5 p.m.).
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