VANCOUVER – In their first home game in three weeks, the UBC Thunderbirds (7-1-2) returned to Thunderbird Stadium with an exclamation mark as they dealt the visiting Thompson Rivers WolfPack (3-4-4) a 5-0 defeat on a chilly Friday evening on the strength of three first half goals and two late second half markers.
A possession heavy and attacking first half hour for the 'Birds led to them getting the opening goal from
Nick Fussell in the 30th minute. The second-year midfielder received a great ball inside the area and slotted it home past TRU keeper Jackson Gardner to give the home side the 1-0 lead. UBC would then only need a minute to double their advantage, as midfield stalwart
Thomas Gardner slid an excellent ball through for
Victory Shumbusho who made no mistake for the 2-0 advantage.
Despite some pushback by the WolfPack, the Thunderbirds remained unfazed as
Mackenzie Cole laid a great ball into the path of senior
Sean Einarsson following a Thompson Rivers turnover in the 40th minute as the veteran 'Bird made no mistake with a fine strike from the top of the 18 to make it 3-0. It was Einarsson's 24th career Canada West goal, moving him into the top 15 on the league's all-time scoring list.
Ryan Arthur entered the game in the 78th for UBC and made an instant impact, receiving a great ball over the top from Gardner. Arthur showed composure as he dribbled past two defenders and slotted it past newly subbed TRU keeper Olivier Jumeau into the net to make it 4-0 UBC in the 84th.
Six minutes later, Arthur scored his second of the game in fantastic fashion.
Jordan Haynes won the ball inside his own half and played it perfectly down the wing to
Mihai Hodut who in turn laid it into the path for the striker who put it into a gaping net.
"I was really happy with the performance today, especially the first half," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "The challenge at halftime was to see the game through and make it the best 90 minute performance to date, and that's what we did tonight."
Jason Roberts stopped a pair of shots to record his fourth shutout of the season. He has 16.5 in his regular season career, the fifth most in the Canada West since 1992.
Next up, TRU visit the UVic Vikes Saturday night, meanwhile the 'Birds get a well merited day off and will return to Thunderbird Stadium Sunday afternoon for a match against the UBC Okanagan Heat. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. PT.
