The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team is off to their best start since 1994, a perfect 6-0 so far in 2012. They've had blow out wins, come-from-behinds, and a victory over last year's CIS champions, the University of Victoria.

UBC will hit their half way point in the Canada West regular season with two home games this weekend against the UNBC Timberwolves.
 
Previously competing in the PacWest conference of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association, UNBC is playing its inaugural season in Canada West action. Like the majority of expansion teams in professional sport leagues, they are struggling in their debut into unchartered territory. The team was overhauled this offseason right from the top. New head coach Alan Alderson has 17 new players on his roster. That's a tough situation for any coach, let alone a new hire leading a team into a higher tier league.
 
The Timberwolves haven't been able to get going offensively yet this season and are winless so far with only three goals in just 36 shots on goal. For them to find the back of the net against UBC's crushing defence, they'll need production from their top players, including last year's leading scorer, Danny Dell (Burns Lake, BC). UNBC's only fifth year player, Dell has ranked amongst the top scorers in PacWest, and is just one of two Timberwolves to get on the scoreboard this season. The team's other two goals were scored by midfield transfer Sourosh Amani (Almere, Netherlands).
 
Other key additions to the Timberwolves' lineup are goalkeepers Tyrone Venhola (Abbotsford, BC) and Mitch McFarlene (Prince George, BC). Venhola is maintaining the better save percentage thus far at .812, however McFarlene has played significantly more minutes, 450 to Venhola's 270. It is likely that both will see plenty of action against UBC this weekend.
 
While UBC's defence is known for shutting down and blanking out its opponents, their offence is no slouch either. Coming into this weekend's games, UBC has scored 23 goals and surrendered only three.

As a team, they rank second in most of the important offensive and defensive statistics, sitting behind the University of Alberta in goals, assists, goals against, goals against average, and shutouts. However, since they have played fewer games than Alberta, UBC lead the league in goals per game, and therefore look to light up the scoreboard early and often against UNBC.
 
Individually, midfielder Gagandeep Dosanjh (Abbotsford, BC) ranks second in Canada West in goals scored (six), and is also tied for first in goals per game (1.00). Set up man Kent O'Connor (Fort Langley, BC) leads Canada West in assists and assists per game with five and 0.83, respectively.

Luke O'Shea (Richmond, BC) is having a strong season between the pipes, ranking second amongst Canada West goalkeepers in goals against average (.600), save percentage (.842), and shutouts (three in five games). Other notables are midfielder Marco Visintin (Vancouver, BC), who has four goals, and centreback Paul Clerc (Coquitlam, BC), who has two goals along with anchoring the team's stellar defence.

GAME TIMES
Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6 – 7 p.m. - UNBC at No. 2 UBC (David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium) - Live statistics can be accessed at www.canadawest.tv.
 
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (6-0-0)
Last Week: 2-0 W vs Mount Royal, 5-1 W vs Winnipeg
 
Last week UBC took to the road for a pair of victories against Mount Royal University and the University of Winnipeg. They got points from regular contributors such as Gagandeep Dosanjh (two goals, three assists), Kent O'Connor (two assists), and Reynold Stewart (Delta, BC) (one goal), but also saw a couple of new names get their firsts of the season. Forward Steve Johnson (Tsawwassen, BC) scored the winner against Mount Royal, while midfielder Greg Smith (North Vancouver, BC) scored a goal in each game.

Midfielder Daniel Gazzola (Burnaby, BC) scored his first against Winnipeg to tie the game and start the Thunderbirds' attack.

Also of note, Richard Meister (Port Moody, BC) took over in net for his first game this year, getting the start against Mount Royal. He made two saves to collect the shut out win.
 
UNBC Timberwolves (0-0-8)
Last Week: 0-5 L vs Calgary, 0-1 L vs Lethbridge
 
UNBC suffered home losses last weekend to the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. They were shut out in both games, however Lethbridge was only able to put one shot past Tyrone Venhola, and it didn't come until late in the game at the 75th minute. A tie would have been a significant accomplishment since the Timberwolves are still searching for their first point in their debut season of Canada West soccer.

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