VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds continued their perfect start to the season after beating the Victoria Vikes 2-0 on Saturday night, improving their record to 3-0-0 with three straight shutout wins.
BOX SCORE
Tyson Keem converted a penalty kick in the 23rd minute to spot UBC a 1-0 lead. First-year forward Gagandeep Dosanjh played a nice through-pass from the wing to fellow rookie Navid Maschini just inside the 18-yard box, and he was brought down by a Vikes defender to win the penalty opportunity for the 'Birds.
Dosanjh then scored one of his own just before halftime. The ball got loose in a crowd of players inside the Vikes' penalty area off a UBC corner, and it eventually bounced toward Dosanjh near the corner of the 6-yard box, who hammered a half-volley shot into the top corner.
"He was very good yesterday and today so it was nice to see him get rewarded getting a goal today," UBC head coach
Mike Mosher said of Dosanjh. "He's quick, he's tricky, he's creative and I think he is a fun player to watch."
The best chance for the Vikes came off a corner in the 67th minute. Gavin Barrett rose above the crowd in the box and directed a strong header towards the goal, testing the reactions of UBC keeper Zack Kalthoff, who was able to punch the ball away and preserve the clean sheet. It was Kalthoff's third clean sheet in as many games, as the T-Birds have yet to concede a goal in conference play.
"We defend well from the front, starting with our forwards, and when you have a player like Gagandeep Dosanjh, he sets a tone with how hard he works," Mosher said. "He gets all sorts of pressure up front and it is infectious through the rest of the group."
UBC nearly had a third goal in the 79th minute when a long cross was misplayed by Vikes keeper Elliot Mitrou. T-Bird striker
Ashley Ankiewicz only managed to get a light touch on the loose ball though as it bounced dangerously through the 6-yard box, and it was cleared off the line by a Vikes defender.
The T-Birds will head out on the road next week to take on Calgary and Lethbridge. Their next home action is on October 1 against Alberta at Thunderbird Park. The Vikes remain the conference's only winless team at 0-4, and will look to turn things around at home next week against Alberta and Saskatchewan.
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