VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds and the UBC Okanagan Heat shared the points Sunday as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in a Canada West men's soccer match in Kelowna, B.C.
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With the stalemate, both teams (1-0-1) completed an undefeated opening weekend of Canada West play. The Thunderbirds opened league play on Saturday with a 2-1 triumph over Thompson Rivers in Kamloops, B.C.
On Sunday afternoon, UBC fell behind – for the second straight contest – on a 22nd-minute goal by Luke Warkentin, which gave the hosts a 1-0 lead that lasted into the second half.
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The Thunderbirds tied the game in the 58th minute on
Kerman Pannu's penalty-kick goal, which went past Heat goalkeeper Mitch McCaw into the bottom left corner of the net.
Titouan Chopin made a decisive run into the left side of the penalty area and was knocked down outside the six-yard box to earn the spot kick.
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UBC ended the match with 13 shots, while the Heat finished with six shots.
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The Thunderbirds had the momentum for most of the match, with much of the 90 minutes being spent in the Heat end. UBCÂ had the first three promising chances of the match, with
Tyler Mertens (13th minute),
Zach Verhoven (13th minute), and
Manpal Brar (20th minute) taking good shots before the Heat's first shot on goal, which was Warkentin's shot on goal.
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McCaw had to make six saves to Bush's one, the most impressive of which came in the 70th minute when he dove to his right to stop an attempt from Pannu. Aside from Warkentin's goal, the best chance for the Heat came on a free kick in the 51st minute, which Hamish Walde put off the right post.
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Manpal Brar. Photo by Cary Mellon/UBC Okanagan Heat
Karn Phagura was UBC's player of the match while McCaw earned the honour for the Heat.
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The Thunderbirds are at home against Northern BC next weekend for the first Canada West games of 2016 on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.
- with files from Grayson Leahy (UBC Okanagan Communications)
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