SASKATOON – The visiting UBC Thunderbirds scored three goals in the final 45 minutes to defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies men's soccer team 3-0 on Field 7 inside Nutrien Park Saturday afternoon.
The Thunderbirds (4-0-1), who entered the matchup ranked as the No. 5 club in the nation, received goals from
Sean Einarsson,
Jora Saran and
Caleb Clarke. Saran,
Rylan Sangha, and
Sam Fletcher added assists on the markers.
Huskies goalkeeper Greg Buckley was strong in the losing effort, as the fifth-year keeper had eight saves. UBC's
Jason Roberts earned his third clean sheet of the season despite not facing a single shot on goal.
The victory gives the T-Birds four straight after a season-opening tie while the Huskies fall to 2-3-0 in 2018.
Tyler Redl had a great opportunity in the eighth minute to record what would have been his fifth goal of the 2018 Canada West campaign, but the fifth-year forward was unable to find the back of the net as his shot ran wide, after a terrific ball from Gabriel Buatois.
The Thunderbirds were quick to respond with a prime scoring opportunity of their own in the 11th minute, but Einarsson was stopped point blank by Buckley. Minutes later, Einarsson did well to get a nifty back heel effort on, but Buckley was there, as the shot fell into his waiting arms.
Thomas Gardner made a fantastic run in the 34th minute through the middle of the pitch, maneuvering his way through several Huskies. Fortunately for the home side, despite Gardner's strike sneaking past Buckley, the ball rung off the post.
The match remained at 0-0 until the 65th minute, when Saran whipped in a beautiful corner kick which found the head of Einarsson whose effort snuck underneath the crossbar, giving the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead.
Second-half substitute Nikolas Baikas was looking to replicate his late-minute magic from last weekend against MacEwan in the 79th minute, but his curling effort narrowly missed the mark.
After a beautiful run from UBC's Sangha, the fifth-year midfielder spotted Saran who provided the Thunderbirds with an insurance marker in the 84th minute.
In second-half stoppage time, Clarke, the Thunderbirds' standout striker, added his third goal of the Canada West campaign which all but sealed the road victory for his club.
"We could've had a couple of goals in the first half, we had a couple that hit the post and a couple that were cleared off the line," said a pleased UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "I was pretty happy with our performance overall, we had a pretty thorough 90 minute plus performance on the day."
The Thunderbirds will head west to Calgary for a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Dinos looking for a fifth straight victory. Game time at West Varsity Soccer Pitch is 1 p.m. PT and is available on Canada West TV.
