Langley, BC - The No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team found the result they were looking for in the second game of the weekend, rolling to a 3-0 victory over the Trinity Western University Spartans Saturday night at Rogers Field in Langley.
UBC had their foot on the gas from the very first whistle. Coming off their first loss of the season last night, the Thunderbirds were itching for the victory tonight. The Spartans did a good job forcing UBC's attacks out wide; however, UBC remained in control during the first half, putting a lot of pressure on the Spartans back line and not giving them time to set up play. Trinity Western goalkeeper Evan Lowther made it difficult on UBC as he took authority in his box and came out aggressively when necessary.
Urgency was apparent for the 'Birds during the last few minutes of play of the first half in their attempt to net the ball. Although the score remained 0-0 after 45 minutes of play, the 'Birds led on offence with six shots, five of which were on net.
After the half, the Spartans came out ready to attack and were first to get off a shot on net. UBC responded by utilizing their back line and calming play. At the 58-minute mark UBC was awarded a free kick.
Milad Mehrabi took the kick and played it back to the 18-yard line and
Alex Orasa made no mistake with a beautiful shot just over Spartans goalkeeper Lowther's head. The 'Birds took a 1-0 lead.
The first goal of the match marked a momentum change in favour of UBC which would continue for the rest of the match. Less than ten minutes later,
Sean Einarsson would break free with a tap around and take a beauty shot into the back of the net.
Although the Spartans continued to try and force the 'Birds along the outside, UBC was in no rush to put themselves in any position for a Spartans counter-attack. With less than five minutes of play, Einarsson redirected the ball off a Spartans defender and would touch the ball again into the back of the net for his second of the game. UBC claimed the victory 3-0 due to their constant pressure on the ball. They led the attacks with 10 shots on goal, compared to two for the Spartans.
UBC goalkeeper
Richard Meister maintained his perfect record shutting out the Spartans with a number of key saves.
With the win, UBC is 9-1-0 on the season and will wrap up the Canada West regular season next weekend. They will be in Victoria to take on the Vikes Friday night and then return home to play host to the Spartans at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 19 at Thunderbird Stadium.
