VANCOUVER – On a cold, rainy night at Thunderbird Stadium the UBC Thunderbirds did just enough to secure a 3-2 victory over the UVic Vikes and move into first place in the Pacific Division of Canada West men's soccer.
 
Titouan Chopin scored twice for UBC, while fellow winger Zach Verhoven had a goal and an assist. Jack Hill and Xavier Araujo potted singles for the Vikes.
 
"I thought Titouan and Zach were excellent tonight," said UBC Head Coach Mike Mosher. "They've been a handful for every team we've faced all season and that was definitely the case again tonight."


 
UBC looked like they might run away with the game early on. In only the second minute of play Verhoven's cross off the right wing slipped through the hands of Vikes' keeper Noah Pawlowski and fell onto the right foot of Chopin. He calmly slotted it into the open net. 
 
"We're playing a lot of young, new people this year and we make a lot of little mistakes," said UVic Head Coach Bruce Wilson.
 
The Thunderbirds swarmed the Vikes' 18-yard box for the game's first ten minutes, but Pawlowski was up to the task and made a huge save of a Chopin bullet shot from the left side of the attacking area.
 
Victoria nearly equalized in the 11th minute on the counterattack. Vikes' striker Michael Baart corralled a through ball and found himself eye-to-eye with UBC keeper Chad Bush. Bush, who had missed the previous nine games with a shoulder injury, showed no fear in hitting the ground and blocking Baart's low shot. The rebound bounced to Keegan Lang, but the Victoria forward's shot was cleared off the goal line by UBC centre back Manraj Bains.


 
In the 21st minute Zach Verhoven pushed outside the Victoria defender and drilled a strike past Pawlowski to give UBC the 2-0 advantage.
 
It was early in the second half when the Vikes cut the 'Birds lead in half. UVic centre back Evan Libke played a magical 60 yards pass up field to Baart, who then fed Jack Hill a perfect through ball. Hill slotted the ball in the far corner and it was 2-1 in the 54th minute.
 
But it was only two minutes later when Chopin scored what will surely be a candidate for the UBC goal of the year. The midfielder cut in from the left wing past three Victoria defenders and drove a howitzer into the top corner of the Vikes' net.


 
"I've been getting lots of shots all season and the last few weeks it's really started to come together," said Chopin. "It's definitely a positive moving into playoffs."

An 88th minute shot by Vikes' midfielder Xavier Araujo took a drastic bend and curled into the corner of the UBC goal. Bush looked helpless on the play, making one wonder if he was screened or couldn't pick up the ball through the heavy rain and wind. The score was 3-2 leading to a frantic final five minutes.
 
In the end UBC held on for the victory and the three points to capture top spot in the Pacific Division of Canada West men's soccer. The 'Birds are tied in total points with Trinity Western, both teams have 26, but UBC holds the tie-breaker with a victory in the head-to-head season series with the Spartans.


 
"We need to shore up things defensively," said Mosher when asked about his team giving up the late goal. "They scored twice and they could have easily scored four or five times. Those things need to addressed."
 
"We've had four seniors out with injury this year," added Wilson. "So we've played people who have never played at all. It's good experience for them so hopefully we get better every game we play."
 
UBC and UVic will play a rematch Saturday at Victoria's Centennial Stadium. Kick-off is at 2:15 PM and the game can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.