CALGARY - The No.2 UBC Thunderbirds suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Calgary Dinos. A first-half goal by Calgary's Jeff Marsden in 28th minute stood up as the winner in the 1-0 loss.
Marsden was the beneficiary of a misplayed corner by Thunderbirds goalkeeper
Zach Kalthoff that resulted in the game's lone goal.
"We have to give credit to Calgary, they're a hardworking team. They punished us for a mistake and at the end of the day that was the difference", said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher.
The win moves the Dinos to 3-1-1 and vaults them ahead of the Thunderbirds, who fall to 3-1-0, in the Canada West standings.
UBC's best opportunity to score came in the opening minutes.
Tyson Keam sent a free kick from 28 yards out screaming over the Calgary wall and just inches over the crossbar and fingertips of Dinos goalkeeper JP Crescenzi.
In the 26th minute, Mashinchi sent in a dangerous free kick to the far post. Two attackers were in the vicinity, but neither could get a boot on it and the Dinos breathed a sigh of relief.
The Dinos opened the scoring two minutes later when Calgary's Brian Delaney sent in a corner kick. Kalthoff correctly jumped to intercept it, but fumbled the ball right to Marsden who made no mistake and headed it home to give the Dinos a 1-0 lead.
Calgary used the momentum to control possession for the remainder of the half. Forward Izak Lawrence did a fantastic job holding the ball and letting the Dinos midfield gather to sustain an attack.
The Dinos opened the second half somewhat unorganized as UBC made a valiant push for the equalizer. UBC?s
Brandon Bonifacio twice failed to convert scoring opportunities in the early minutes, first denied by a diving Crescenzi, then firing a shot over the crossbar.
"We created more the enough chances in the second half but we could not get the equalizer to change the flow of the game", said Mosher.
In the 53rd minute, confusion almost cost the Dinos a goal when a weak cross eluded four players and Crescenzi before glancing off the post.
The near mistake re-energized Calgary, who played solid, fundamental soccer from there to avoid giving away any further scoring chances and complete the upset.
The Dinos will look to build on their success when they face Trinity Western tomorrow afternoon at the West Varsity Soccer Pitch, while UBC will drive south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
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