VANCOUVER – The No. 6 UBC men's soccer team did not disappoint their noisy home crowd on Saturday night at Thunderbird Stadium, continuing their win streak by grinding out an important 1-0 victory against the No. 1 Victoria Vikes.
After 68 minutes of scoreless action, the defining moment in the game came when second year UBC midfielder
Milad Mehrabi (Coquitlam, BC) sent a booming strike into the top right corner of the net from 20 yards out.
The first half clearly showed how evenly matched these two teams are. The play was back and forth and both teams had five in the first 45 minutes, relying on beautiful saves from their keepers to keep the score at 0-0.
UBC's Gagandeep Dosanjh (Abbotsford, BC) continued to be a scoring threat. It took him just two minutes into the game to find the ball on a break and blast it at the net, but Victoria 'keeper Elliot Mitrou reacted fast to tip it over the crossbar and safely out of play. Dosanjh used his speed to get ahead of the Vikes' defence again on another play in the 22nd minute and managed to tip the ball across the box past the goalie.
Kent O'Connor (Langley, BC) sprinted in to try knocking it into the net, missing the ball ever so slightly with his right foot on a slide.
In the locker room during halftime, UBC head coach
Mike Mosher reminded his players to be patient, and their perseverance paid off.
“I didn't think we were clicking the way that maybe we're capable of, but it's also that the opponent was a difficult opponent and they make it hard for you to play,” said Mosher. “We will get our chances and it's a matter of finishing. What a strike by Milad to get the winner,” he added.
After Mehrabi put the Thunderbirds ahead, the Vikes became frustrated and received two yellow cards in the latter stages of the game. Defender Andrew Ravenhill (Victoria, BC) picked up a yellow for aggression in the 74th minute, and midfielder Spencer MacKinnon (Abbotsford, BC) added another in the 77th.
UBC goalkeeper
Luke O'Shea (Richmond, BC) acted decisively to make several more key saves with the Vikes on the attack. He kept a clean score sheet with six stops for his third shutout of the season. Mitrou ended the game with two saves.
UBC is now 4-0 this season, and tonight's match with Victoria was their toughest yet.
While Mosher pointed out that “it's three points regardless of your opponent,” he admitted that Victoria is “certainly one of the top opponents in the conference and in the country. It's a team we're going to battle for the top spot in the division. It's a good confidence builder for the group.”
UBC will look to carry their momentum right into the playoffs. The team is relatively healthy right now, but Mosher says that “just maintaining the guys' motivation and eagerness” will be the key, especially mid-season in October when school gets demanding as well.
“You get into heavy months and the training load has been going for two months, so maintaining the motivation is a big piece for this group," Mosher said.
The Thunderbirds have a bye next week. They will fly to Calgary at the end of September for a game against Mount Royal and then go to Winnipeg from there.
“We've been going hard for a good five or six weeks now, so it's nice to get a little bit of a break,” said Mosher.
UBC fans can catch the next men's soccer home game on Friday, Oct. 5 at Thunderbird Stadium against the University of Northern BC, who are playing their first season in Canada West.
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