VANCOUVER -
Brandon Bonifacio looked to have scored the winner late in the second half but Justin Latrace's goal in the 90th minute salvaged a draw for the visitors as the UBC Thunderbirds tied the Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-2 Friday night at Thunderbird Park.
Lethbridge (1-6-2), who had failed to find the net in their previous three contests, proved a resilient squad as they netted the tying tally just three minutes after UBC (5-2-2) had gone ahead.
Bonifacio's goal came in the 87th minute, moments after the third-year midfielder rang a rising strike of the crossbar from in close. Following the ensuing melee Matthew Allard found Bonifacio just outside the 6-yard box and he fired a low shot that deflected off Lethbridge keeper Colin Pattison and in for a 2-1 UBC lead.
Following a
Joey Loreth free kick that again struck the woodwork, the T-Birds were unable to keep the Pronghorns pinned in their half as the game crept into extra time. The Pronghorns pressed and earned a free kick 15 yards outside the UBC penalty area. The long ball in was neatly flicked on by Steven Brown and gathered by Latrace who slipped the ball past UBC goalkeeper
Richard Meister just ahead of the final whistle to steal two points from the T-Birds.
Meister made his first start of the season in place of the injured Zach Kalhoff, he made four saves in the draw.
The frenetic final minutes were not a reflection of the tone of the match as UBC carried the majority of the play. The home side fired 19 shots towards the Lethbridge goal but only four of those were on target. Those missed opportunities stood out for UBC head coach
Mike Mosher.
"Ultimately it comes down to quality and we need to get more from guys getting those opportunities," said Mosher.
UBC took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to an excellent service by newcomer
Alejandro Isern. The first-year Barcelona native crossed a magnificent ball into the box that was received by Gagandeep Dosanjh and finished inside the near post for the first-year forward's third goal of the season.
Lethbridge answered 10 minutes later on an equally excellent goal. Morgan Brownjohn took a pass from Brett Silbernagel and evaded his marker on the edge of the penalty area. The second-year midfielder then quickly struck a curling, left-footed shot that bent into the top left corner to level the match at 1-1.
UBC hosts the second place and No.9-ranked Calgary Dinos, in what could prove to be a pivotal match, Saturday night at Thunderbird Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Lethbridge travels to Langley to face Trinity Western, also on Saturday.
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