VANCOUVER - On a chilly and wet Friday evening at David Sidoo Field, the UBC Thunderbirds won 3-0 over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, dominating a rematch against the team that stunningly ended their 27-game undefeated streak two weeks ago.
BOX SCORE
The Thunderbirds displayed strong offensive ability as
Milad Mehrabi,
Navid Mashinchi and
Sean Einarsson all scored while goalkeeper
Chris Beck recorded his first career shutout.
With the win, UBC improves to 4-1-0 and remains tied for top spot in the Canada West Pacific Division. Fraser Valley falls to 2-3-0 on the season.
Second-year goalkeeper
Chris Beck made a number of key saves early in the game keeping the teams deadlocked through the first 30 minutes including a spectacular diving save off a header from Fraser Valley's Justin Sekhon.
After controlling the pace in the early stages of the match, the Thunderbirds struck first in the 31st minute first thanks to a low strike from just outside the 18-yard box from Mehrabi, who recorded his fourth goal of the season.
As the rain began to fall, Mashinchi added to the Thunderbirds lead in the 41st minute with a well-placed chip over UFV goalkeeper Mark Village. Veteran midfielder
Reynold Stewart, the Canada West First Star of the Week, assisted on both goals in the first half.
The 'Birds did not waste any time getting on the board in the second half as a 47th-minute header from midfielder Einarsson found the back of the net off a feed from defender
Harry Lakhan.
Following the team's victory, head coach
Mike Mosher praised the team for capitalizing on its chances.
"We were good enough on the day and converted some chances, which ended up being the difference maker. Our goalkeeper did well by making some key saves," added Mosher
Fraser Valley had a number of good chances in the second half as Connor MacMillan found the post with a shot in the 63rd minute while Ryan Liddiard drilled one off the crossbar thanks to a free kick from 25 yards out in the 66th. UFV couldn't manage to break the shutout as goaltender Beck ended up getting the victory after collecting three saves.
The Thunderbirds will be back in action Saturday evening as the team travels to Victoria to face the Vikes in a crucial Pacific Division matchup. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m.
As far as game plan goes, Mosher had this to say: "Keep it tight defensively, they 've got some good players at forward but we have got enough firepower to continue to create chances and convert on those chances."
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