VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team defeated the University of Fraser Valley Cascades 3-2 in Abbotsford, B.C., Friday night, after a tight 90 minutes of back-and-forth action.

This was the first Canada West regular season victory for the men's soccer team (1-0-1). The Thunderbirds hope to continue this upward trend when they play the Trinity Western Spartans tomorrow evening in Langley, B.C.

UBC played a 4-3-3 formation on the pitch with first-year goalkeeper Chad Bush (Ottawa) in net, and the action started early. Justin Sekhon for Fraser Valley had a chance within two minutes, rushing through UBC's defence, but missed the net high. UBC countered with an attempt of its own, but the Cascades' defence swooped in and stopped the Thunderbirds' advance. A quick missed header in the opposite direction almost led to a Fraser Valley goal, but UBC's Bush punted the ball out of bounds.

The Thunderbirds netted their first goal with a tidy give-and-go between the side wingers in the 16th minute. The ball was passed up to third-year midfielder Sean Einarsson (Surrey, B.C.) who sailed it past Fraser Valley's keeper for his first goal of the season off of a pass from Gagan Dosanjh (Abbotsford, B.C.). Dosanjh doubled UBC's lead in the 39th minute, increasing the score to 2-0. The fifth-year now has two goals and an assist this season.

However, UBC couldn't take a shutout into the mid-game break as Cascades midfielder Kree Bryne beat Bush and headed one between the pipes just before the halftime whistle. Daniel Davidson got the assist, and the 'Birds led 2-1 going into the second.

After the restart, the Cascades played with added pressure, but it wasn't enough to keep the T-Birds down. In the 53rd minute of play, Harry Lakhan (Surrey, B.C.) recovered a corner and laced a Herculean goal from outside the 18, advancing UBC's lead to 3-1.

Less than five minutes later, however, Fraser Valley retaliated with a strong rush. James Najman scored the Cascades' second goal and Mason Thompson provided the assist. However, the hosts couldn't find an equalizer and 3-2 ended up as the final score.

Goals weren't the only thing exchanged in this match; each team earned two yellow cards. Lakhan and Chris Serban (Calgary, Alta.) were carded on UBC while Daniel Molendijk and Sukhjiht Dhaliwal received them for Fraser Valley. Between the two teams, there were four yellow cards and 24 fouls.

The Thunderbirds finish their three-game road trip tomorrow evening at Trinity Western in Langely. Kick off is slated for 7:15 p.m. PT. The TWU Spartans are 2-1-0 with both their wins coming on the road.