VANCOUVER - A hand ball mid-way through the second half put
Marco Visintin on the penalty spot for the second consecutive game and the midfielder buried the chance to send the No.4-ranked UBC Thunderbirds over the Fraser Valley Cascades 1-0 Friday night at Thunderbird Park.
BOX SCORE
UBC moves to 2-0-0 on the season after capitalizing on a penalty kick for the second consecutive game. In the 70th minute a short corner by
Navid Mashinchi led to a give and go that freed up space atop the Fraser Valley box. Mashinchi then let fly a rising shot that struck a Fraser Valley defender in the arm and the referee wasted no time awarding the penalty.
The goal was tough to stomach for the Cascades (1-2-0) who, after a first half in which UBC carried the run of the play, were gathering momentum.
"Fraser Valley is a hardworking team and they became very motivated as the game wore on," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher.
UBC withstood the increase in tempo by the visitors and Mosher credited his back line with deflecting the Cascades attack.
"We were without a couple of starters on defence today and that gave some of our guys a chance to step in and showcase out depth," added Mosher.
Fraser Valley's best opportunity came in the frantic final minutes of extra time. After a long throw-in the ball came to Stuart Rowlands just outside the UBC box. The Cascades forward turned and fired towards the goal but the pace on the ball sent it just over the T-Birds' crossbar.
The Thunderbirds host the rival University of Victoria Vikes as they conclude a three-game Canada West homestand while the Cascades travel to Langley to face the No.7-ranked Trinity Western Spartans.
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