VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team couldn't have asked for a better showing on opening weekend, outscoring opponents 11-0 en route to a pair of convincing wins, but things won't be so simple when the defending national champs come to town this week.
The 'Birds play a road game at Fraser Valley this Friday before hosting the 2011 CIS champion Victoria Vikes at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday.
GAME TIMES
Fri., Sept. 14 - 7:15 p.m. - UBC at Fraser Valley (Exhibition Field, Chilliwack, BC)
Sat., Sept. 15 - 8:00 p.m. - Victoria at UBC (Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver, BC)
Live statistics can be accessed at
CanadaWest.TV.
No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds (2-0-0)
Last Week: 3-0 W vs Calgary, 8-0 W vs Lethbridge
The T-Birds led Canada West in scoring last year, and they appear to have picked up where they left off with 11 goals to open the 2012 campaign. After a stellar rookie campaign, electrifying forward Gagandeep Dosanjh had a bit of a sophomore slump last season, but seems to have left that in the dust with three goals already to his name this year.
Senior midfielder
Marco Visintin is off to another quick scoring start with two goals under his belt, and even defender
Paul Clerc has lit the lamp multiple times already.
The big questions heading into the year for UBC centre on the fullback ranks, which lost All-Canadian
Jason Gill and All-Star Matthew Allard to graduation. The 'Birds will certainly face greater tests defensively in the weeks to come, but allowing just three shots on goal through the first week of conference play bodes well for this group.
UBC went with just three at the back in week one, with
Tyler Mertens and
Will Hyde joining Clerc at fullback. Hyde is also a conference All-Star, and Mertens is a talented rookie from whom big things are expected by coach
Mike Mosher.
Fraser Valley Cascades (0-0-0)
Last Week: Bye
The Cascades struggled mightily in 2011, finishing with just one win and a conference-worst 33 goals against.
The good news for the Cascades though is that all their key players are returning, including leading scorer Sasa Plavsic, who will now be playing alongside his brother, Dalibor, who was recruited as a midfielder this year.
Senior forward Craig Robinson joins Plavsic up front, and veteran defenders Colton O'Neill and Ravi Singh are also back to provide leadership and stability for a defensive unit that will need to be much more consistent this year if the Cascades want to make the playoffs for the first time in program history.
No. 1 Victoria Vikes (2-0-0)
Last Week: W 3-1, W 8-0 vs UNBC
The Vikes finished on top of the regular season standings last year and rode that momentum all the way to a national title, which they won on home soil as hosts of the CIS tournament.Â
Although they lost several key pieces of that title run to graduation, the Vikes enter the new season as the top-ranked team in the nation, and they justified that with some impressive games against Canada West newcomers UNBC last week.
Most of Victoria's personnel losses were at midfield, but you wouldn't know it based on opening weekend. Midfielder Craig Taylor is the early scoring leader with three goals last week. Fellow midfielder Cam Stokes, a Langara College transfer, is off to a good start with his new team with a pair of goals of his own.
The Vikes also have reigning Canada West Rookie of the Year Cam Hundal at midfield, so their depth in the middle of the park should make for some great clashes of skill when they get together with the 'Birds this week. Â
Victoria has a highly experienced fullback group, led by team captain David Adams, and senior keeper Elliot Mitrou is coming off a very strong season where he led the league in goals-against average, so it will be interesting to see which high-flying offence continues to soar and which one gets grounded as the 'Birds and Vikes prepare for their first meeting of the year.
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