VANCOUVER -
Navid Mashinchi opened the scoring and set up another goal to spot the UBC Thunderbirds to a 2-0 lead, and
Marco Visintin capitalized on two penalty kick chances in the second half to wrap up a high-scoring opening weekend for the 'Birds with a 4-2 win over the Fraser Valley Cascades at Thunderbird Park on Saturday night.
MS: T-Birds vs. UFV (Sep. 10, 2011) Gallery
Mashinchi wasted no time making his mark on the game, curling the first shot of the contest in to the far top corner from just outside the 18 yard box in the fourth minute. Ten minutes later he set up Gagandeep Dosanjh's first goal of the season from the same spot, sending a low cross in through the six yard box that was redirected home from point blank range.
"One of the benefits of having a veteran-laden group is they know the league, they know the standard of play we expect, and they've played together a lot so I think they are coming in at a pretty good level to start the season," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "We've got some good technical players like
Sean Haley, Gagan and Navid, and when they get going and play off each other, it can be really nice to watch."
The T-Birds were within inches of having three goals in the half, but after a free kick deflected off a Fraser Valley defender and hit the crossbar,
Brandon Bonifacio's header on the rebound also found the woodwork and stayed out to keep the Cascades alive.
The visitors made a game of it after the break when Brian Davis cut the UBC lead in half with his first tally of the season in the 49th minute, but the 'Birds responded with heavy offensive pressure, earning a penalty kick after a Cascades defender made a tackle from behind in the box. Visintin stepped up to the spot and calmly slotted the ball just inside the right post for his second of the season at the 51 minute mark, and after another reckless challege in the box just four minutes later, he made good on his opportunity again, this time going to the left for his third of the year, putting UBC up 4-1.
"The work rate overall this weekend was quite good," said Mosher. "Something we really preached was to not let teams outwork us and to get on top. We got on top early today which makes it difficult for them to fight back in. When they did get that goal to make it 2-1 we had a great response to earn that penalty kick."
Fouls played a big role in the game, with three goals coming as a direct result of a foul, and nine yellow cards handed out between the teams.
Sasa Plavsic pulled one back for the visitors in the 63rd with a superb free kick around the wall and just inside the far post from 20 yards out, but that was all they could muster against the No.2 ranked T-Birds, who move to 2-0 on the year having beaten Victoria 4-0 on Friday. Rich Meister made three saves in goal for UBC.
The Cascades fall to 1-1 and will look to regroup at home next weekend against Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The T-Birds begin a three-game road swing next weekend with a single match in Langley against Trinity Western. After trips to Alberta and Saskatchewan, their next home action is against Lethbridge on September 30 at Thunderbird Park.
