VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team earned its first win of the preseason with a 2-1 victory over the host Western Washington Vikings in Bellingham, Wash., on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Michael Mauro (West Vancouver, B.C.) scored the winner in the 85th minute, tapping in a loose ball inside the right post.

Western Washington, an NCAA Div. 2 program, had taken a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, as Trevor Bartels volleyed home a Jeremy Wentzel corner kick from eight yards out.

UBC equalized in the 31st minute when newcomer Luke Griffin (Coquitlam, B.C.) finished off a rebound on a half volley.

The Thunderbirds outshot the Vikings 22-5 and had a 10-4 advantage in corner kicks. New goalkeeper Chad Bush (Ottawa, Ont.) played the first 72 minutes in net for UBC and was then spelled off by Jason Roberts (Richmond, B.C.)
 
This was the third and final non-conference game for UBC in the state of Washington. The T-Birds tied Seattle Pacific, another NCAA Div. 2 team, 3-3 on Saturday before playing NAIA school Evergreen State to a scoreless draw in Olympia on Sunday.
 
The team will have one more game before the start of the Canada West regular season. UBC will host local rivals Simon Fraser on Friday night at Thunderbird Stadium, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m.