An own goal from the Trinity Western Spartans in the second half allowed the CIS no. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team to leave Langley with a 1-1 draw tonight after another close battle between the provincial rivals.
The tying goal came in the 79th minute. UBC's
Greg Smith (North Vancouver, BC) took the ball deep into the Spartans' penalty area before delivering a low, hard cross for
Sean Haley (Vancouver, BC). But before it got to Haley, the ball deflected off a Trinity Western defender and into net.
Trinity Western took the lead in the 27th minute on a Spencer Schmidt goal. He beat UBC goalkeeper
Matt Robinson (Vancouver, BC) to a long cross at the top of the 18-yard box and headed the ball into an empty net. Schmidt was named TWU's player of the match.
“It wasn't a great goal and it was certainly against the run of play,” said Mosher after the final whistle.
UBC almost didn't need the own goal from Trinity Western. About five minutes after the Spartans went ahead, the Thunderbirds had a great chance at an equalizer when
Tyson Keam (Langley, BC) hit the underside of the crossbar with a shot. The ball bounced down onto the goal line but stayed out.
More chances came in the second half as UBC pressed for the tying goal.
Brandon Bonifacio (Vancouver, BC) knocked a shot just over the crossbar in the 54th minute while Haley put one just wide of the Spartans' goal in the 61st.
“We just weren't clicking quite as much as we were the week before in the attacking third of the field,” said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. “So we needed just a little more movement in a few cases, but it's one of those days where maybe we weren't at our best but I still thought we were good, and we still got a result on a day where we weren't as sharp.”
Still, UBC enjoyed a 4-3 edge in corner kicks and outshot Trinity Western 9-4 over the course of the game.
Mosher also praised the work of
Marco Visintin (Vancouver, BC), UBC's player of the match.
“I thought he was quite steady in the midfield getting on the ball and moving it,” said Mosher.
UBC remains undefeated at 2-0-1. The team's next games are at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Alberta next weekend.
Trinity Western will also face the same two teams on the road next weekend.
UBC and TWU will face other again on October 15 at Thunderbird Park.
- with files from Trinity Western Sports Information
