VANCOUVER - The Alberta Golden Bears upset the the host UBC Thunderbirds in the second semi-final at the Canada West Championship in Vancouver, stunning the top seed with a 1-0 victory to earn a spot in the CW gold medal game.
The win moves the Golden Bears into a winner take all final against the Victoria Vikes tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. with just the victor heading to the 2009 CIS men's soccer championship in Langley next weekend. For the T-Birds, they close their season against the TWU Spartans in the CW bronze medal game scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start on Saturday at Thunderbird Park.
"Obviously the result is hugely disappointing. We just didn't have a really strong performance today with some guys and some guys off. It wasn't a complete performance," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "It's disappointing to do it in one of the biggest games of the year. We knew coming in whether you were first or fourth, anybody can beat anybody once you get to the playoffs and it just wasn't our day."
Milan Timotijevic put the Golden Bears ahead in the 11th minute with a lethal strike from just inside the top of the penalty area. The Calgary native found himself alone with the ball just inside the top of the box after the T-Birds misplayed an Alberta cross and the third-year midfielder made little mistake rocketing the shot top corner passed T-Bird keeper
Nikolai Matni.
It was the Golden Bears only shot on net, but they made it count, and spent the next 80 minutes soundly defending their one goal lead.
"We just did what we have been doing all season which is playing tough defensively. As long as you aren't conceding goals you obviously have the chance to win," said Alberta head coach Len Vickery. "We had a wonderful strike early in the first half that settled the game and from then on it was a matter of just trying to keep UBC at bay as they came really strong."
The T-Birds were out of sorts in the first half, unable to generate the consistent pressure or possession that characterized their perfect home regular season that saw them go 7-0-0 without allowing a goal.
The second half saw a surge from the T-Birds and they looked to be in good form going forward. Alberta's Dean Northover picked up his second yellow in the 66th minute and was sent off with his second major foul setting up UBC's best scoring chance of the game.
A long ball was played into the box from just inside the Alberta half and it fell to T-Bird striker
Ryan Reynolds whose redirection was expertly parried by Golden Bear keeper Jaswinder Gill.
UBC upped the pressure with the man advantage but the pace of the game settled when
Tyson Keam was sent off for the T-Birds in the 77th minute. After receiving a yellow card for a dangerous tackle, Keam was then recalled by the referee who upgraded the infringement to a straight red after conferring with the fourth official.
With the numbers again level, the Golden Bears were more than equal to the task as they held off the T-Birds over the final 15 minutes.
Gill made two saves to earn the clean sheet as the T-Birds out shot the Bears 9-4 but generated only a handful of threatening chances.
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