VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team (5-1-3) successfully kept their win streak alive following a 2-0 victory over the visiting Thompson Rivers WolfPack (1-2) on Friday night. They are now 3-0-1 in conference play.
 
Although UBC managed to shut the door on the WolfPack through the 90-minute bout, both T-Bird goals, from Sean Einarsson (Surrey, B.C.) and Chris Serban (Calgary), came early in the first half making a for a tense final 45 minutes.
 
TRU struck early on in the match with an attempt from Kyle Fertile in the third minute, but first-year UBC goalkeeper Chad Bush (Ottawa) was able to prevent an early go-ahead goal.
 
TRU's early momentum following Fertile's attempt was short lived as, less than a minute later, UBC's Einarsson headed in a feed from former WolfPack midfielder Justin Wallace (Kamloops, B.C.), and found the top corner of the net.
 
Einarsson, recalling his second goal of the regular season, said "We played it short, Justin found me with a nice ball," he said. "It was nice to score one early."
 
There was no shortage of chances for both clubs during the first half with TRU's Colton Walker and Fertile nearly getting their team on the scoreboard in the fifth and ninth minute respectively. UBC rookie Titouan Chopin (Kaslo, B.C.), on the hunt for his second goal of the season, nearly provided the T-Birds with some breathing room, but was shut down by WolfPack goalkeeper Travis Froehlich.
 
While it looked like the next goal could come from either club, it was the efforts of Thunderbird second-year defender Serban in the 31st minute that earned UBC its second tally of the night.
 
While there was no shortage of chances for both teams, UBC was able to make it to the half with a solid lead. The offensive pressure continued into the first minutes of the second half with the T-Birds spending ample time in the WolfPack's zone. Fifth-year veteran Gagan Dosanjh (Abbotsford, B.C.) fired a bullet just north of the goalpost in the 57th minute, followed shortly after by a low cross attempt from Chopin that sailed just wide.
 
TRU's offence responded with Oriol Torres lobbing a header just wide of the net at the 68th minute. The play marked a noticeable momentum shift in favour of the WolfPack, who were able to deny UBC a shooting opportunity for nearly 20 minutes of play.
 
In the end, TRU's late offensive pressure was not enough to get any shots past Bush. The Thunderbirds were able to successfully keep their win streak going with their second 2-0 shutout in a row.
 
Reflecting on his team's performance, Thunderbird's head coach Mike Mosher noted that "we were a little sloppy at times…we need to put in a full 90-minute performance."
 
While Mosher admits that even with back-to-back shutouts the team has room for improvement and also acknowledged that "there is a lot of quality in the team."
 
UBC will face the UBC Okanagan Heat (1-3-1) Saturday evening at Thunderbird Stadium. The Heat will be looking for their first win since September 18, while the Thunderbirds are hoping to avoid their first loss of the season. The game commences at 7 p.m. (PT).