KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Another game, another comeback win for the UBC Thunderbirds.
Less than a week after UBC scored three straight goals to beat Trinity Western to capture the Canada West title 3-2 in extra time, the T-Birds recorded another come-from-behind triumph, this time in the opening match of the 2017 U SPORTS Respect Group Men's Soccer Championship in Kamloops, B.C.
Rylan Sangha scored the game winner with three minutes left in the second period of extra time to lift the T-Birds to a 2-1 victory over the New Brunswick Varsity Reds Thursday at Hillside Stadium. Sangha caught the ball with his right foot, turned and fired, beating Varsity Reds goalkeeper Evan Barker.
The teams were scoreless after the first half, one which was dominated by the Thunderbirds. UBC had a couple of chances to score on Evan Barker, with the most dramatic coming in the 11th minute. Barker stopped UBC rookie
Patrick Metcalfe's penalty kick to keep the Thunderbirds from getting on the scoreboard.
The teams played a see-saw match in the second half.
The Varsity Reds scored the first goal of the Championship in the 78th minute when Dan Walker – a third-year striker – escaped his check and broke down the right side and slid it past UBC 'keeper
Chad Bush.
The Thunderbirds mounted an offensive attack and it paid off in the 83rd minute.
Kyle Sohi raced down the right side and crossed it to a wide-open
Ryan Arthur, who slotted the ball into an empty left side of the net to even the match at 1-1.
"We just keep making life difficult for ourselves," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "Perhaps that's what you get with a young team. Maybe life with a young team is that they don't know any better and they keep coming back. We had a massive number of chances and could have put it away early. But hey, sometimes you put your head down and you keep going. That's what we did today. We found that late winner."
"Difficult losing in a national quarter-final and knowing your season is basically over," stated UNB head coach Miles Pinsent. "Despite the fact we were playing our fourth game in seven days, I thought we were making some inroads late in the game. At the same time, you could see the tired legs. We had a number of guys who had to come off because of cramps and other injuries because of the grind we have had with the games and the travel. There was a challenge in front of us and I thought the boys rose to it, as the game went on. Hats off to the guys for that."
UBC will face Montreal in the national semifinal Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m., at Hillside Stadium.
