VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team is having a near-perfect storybook season. They are undefeated in 12 games, with just one tie surrendered on the road against the Alberta Golden Bears. They are a talented bunch that has shown time and again that they can play the game both ways, leading the conference in goals scored (43) and shutouts (7). While they have a star striker in Canada West leading-scorer Gagandeep Dosanjh (Abbotsford, BC), their goals have come from many different people and places, reflecting a well-balanced attack.
But with first place still on the line, one last challenge remains, and it is perhaps the biggest one yet. Like all great stories, this season all comes down to a thrilling finale, a double-header weekend that will set the stage for the upcoming playoffs. UBC will play two critical games against their arch rivals, the Trinity Western University Spartans, who currently sit in second place.
Each team will host the other on back-to-back nights, starting Friday night in Langley.
The results of these final regular season games will decide the winner of the Canada West Pacific Division, and thus have an impact on playoff match ups. Both teams defeated UVIC and UFV this past weekend, so UBC maintained their 5 point lead over Trinity in the conference standings. With this point differential , UBC will need just one point out of an available six to clinch first place, so a tie with Trinity in either of these games is all they need. However, the Thunderbirds have a chance to accomplish an impressive feat if they can stay undefeated, and they would like to keep as much momentum as possible before heading out on the road for the playoffs.
The sad part of this story is that matter the outcome of this weekend, neither team will get the luxury of hosting a playoff game. While no other team in Canada West soccer can possibly overtake both Trinity and UBC at this stage in the season, the new format of the league states that for the 2012 season, the winner of the Prairie Division will host the entire Canada West playoff tournament in one weekend. As Pacific Division teams, UBC and Trinity will get no home advantage despite being the top two teams in the conference, and will therefore have to win important playoff games out on the road. If they succeed at making the finals in the Canada West tournament, they will go on to the CIS national championships in Quebec City.
So UBC fans, don't miss your last chance to see your team play one last home game before they begin their ultimate quest to win both the Canada West and CIS championship titles. Holding a five-point cushion puts the Thunderbirds in a good position. They'll look to take care of business Friday night in Langley so that they can come home to a farewell at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday having already locked up first place.
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (11-0-1, 34 points)
Last week: 2-1 W vs. Victoria, 3-0 W vs. Fraser Valley
UBC continued their undefeated streak last weekend with two victories at Thunderbird Stadium against Victoria and Fraser Valley. Goaltending was strong in both wins, with
Luke O'Shea (Richmond, BC) making key saves to hang on to a narrow lead against UVIC, and
Richard Meister (Port Moody, BC) collecting his third shutout of the season the following night against UFV.
In the UVIC match, Gagandeep Dosanjh put the Thunderbirds up 1-0, but the resilient Vikes answered and the score was even at halftime. Centreback
Paul Clerc (Coquitlam, BC) got his head on a long cross from
Marco Visintin (Vancouver, BC) for the winner.
Milad Mehrabi (Coquitlam, BC) scored two goals in the opening thirty minutes to give UBC a nice cushion against UFV, while
Brandon Ho (Vancouver, BC) came off the bench and put the game away in the second half. However, it ended up being a costly night for the Thunderbirds as Clerc, one of the top defensemen in the country, picked up his third yellow card of the season. He will have to sit out Friday night's match in Langley to serve his one-game suspension.
No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans (9-1-2, 29 points)
Last week: 1-0 W vs. Fraser Valley, 2-1 W vs. Victoria
Like UBC, Trinity also prevailed over Fraser Valley and Victoria last weekend, thus keeping their hopes of a first place finish alive. Goalie Evan Lowther (Surrey, BC) made 10 saves to earn the shutout against UFV and keep his team in the game, while
Jarvis Ambaka (Maragoli, Kenya) was the hero at the other end of the field, scoring the game's lone goal in the 74
th minute. The Spartans clinched a playoff berth with the win. They got another three points the next night against the Vikes, this time by scoring two early goals and hanging on for the victory. Cam Parkes (North Delta, BC) scored in the 14th minute and then Ambaka doubled the lead just over a minute later. Ambaka seems to have a knack for scoring important goals, as this one would turn out to be his league leading fourth game winner. He leads the Spartans with 8 goals this season.
UBC head coach
Mike Mosher was quick to praise Trinity. “They're a good team, they're well organized, and they're well coached. It'll be an interesting final weekend,” he commented. “(Luckily) they've got to come and beat us twice to be first. They've got a good team, so we've got to get a good week of training and be ready. They'll look to throw everything at us.”
GAME TIMES
Friday, October 26
th - 7:30 p.m. at Rogers Field (Langley, BC)
Saturday, October 27
th- 7:00 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium (Vancouver, BC)
Tickets for UBC Thunderbirds home games are $10 for adults, $5 for youth/seniors/UBC staff/visiting students, and just $2 for UBC students and UNA members. Kids under 6 get in for free!
Both games will be streamed live with updated statistics at
www.canadawest.tv.
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