PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The UNBC men's soccer Timberwolves gave the UBC Thunderbirds a pretty good shot, but close isn't always good enough.
The CIS No. 2 Thunderbirds played a controlled game en route to a 2-0 victory over the Timberwolves, extending their winning streak over UNBC to seven straight matches.
Kerman Pannu (Surrey, B.C.) and
Sean Einarsson (Surrey, B.C.) scored for the Thunderbirds (5-0-1), who overtook the idle Victoria Vikes for first place in the Pacific Division with the victory.
Chad Bush (Ottawa) had a tidy performance in the UBC goal, stopping all five UNBC shots on target for the clean sheet.
Tyrone Venhola also put up a strong performance for the Timberwolves (1-6-0), turning aside eight of the 10 Thunderbird attempts he faced.
The Thunderbirds got the ball rolling in the 17th minute on a bit of a strange play. In a scrum just outside the 18-yard box, Pannu turned and fired a shot with three Timberwolves surrounding him. The ball appeared to deflect off a player before knuckling over an outstretched Venhola, giving UBC the one-goal advantage.
UNBC had a golden opportunity immediately after the goal with a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, but Brett Bobier's shot was off the mark.
The Timberwolves had their fair share of opportunities to close out the first half, but they couldn't find a way to solve Bush, and the Thunderbirds carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
UBC extended its lead early in the second half. Off a deep ball from
Bryan Fong (Vancouver),
Lucas Reis (Port Moody, B.C.) tapped the ball to a streaking Einarsson, who deked around Venhola and tucked the ball into the open net, putting the Thunderbirds up 2-0 through 53 minutes.
The Thunderbirds had an opportunity to put the game away in the 72nd minute, as Bobier brought
Justin Wallace (Kamloops, B.C.) down in the box. However, Venhola stopped the ensuing penalty kick attempt, pushing the ball off the post and grabbing the loose ball before UBC could capitalize.
The two teams will clash again on Sunday at 2:15 p.m.
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