The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team looks to remain unbeaten on the young season when they hit the road for week two of the Canada West campaign with games against Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan this weekend.
 
Action gets underway on Saturday, August 31 in Kamloops B.C. at Hillside Stadium with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff as the 'Birds visit TRU for what will be the Wolfpack's home and season opener. TRU always plays the T-Birds tough and there's no doubt the home side will be primed to perform in their debut affair.
 
UBC will then hit the highway to meet the UBC Okanagan Heat just over 24 hours later with a 3:00 p.m. start at Kelowna's Nonis sports field.

?? MSOC | T-Birds Goal!! Sean Einarsson with his 1st of the season gives @ubcmsoc a 1-0 lead over the @TWUSpartans in the 35th #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/cztiaL4eTd

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) August 25, 2019

 

Last Action

 
The T-Birds who who once again topped the pre-season coaches' poll as the favorites to come away with a third straight Canada West championship opened the season by collecting all six points available to them. It started last Friday night in Abbotsford with a 2-0 victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades. Forward Victory Shumbusho and midfielder Logan Chung scored for the visitors while goalkeeper Jason Roberts made six saves to earn the shutout.
 
The 'Birds followed up Friday's win with a character come from behind 3-2 triumph over the rival Trinity Western Spartans in their home opener last Sunday at Thunderbird Stadium. Midfielder Sean Einarsson opened the scoring in the 35^th minute ahead of the hosts conceding two straight goals to go down 2-1 early in the second half. UBC would battle back however with goals 10 minutes apart from midfielder Mackenzie Cole and forward Ryan Arthur to secure the win. Defender Jordan Haynes was key in the comeback as he delivered the first assist on the game tying and game winning goal.
 
The Wolfpack meanwhile are feeling confident following a busy and successful pre-season that saw them win five of their six outings, including a recent swing through Fresno, California where they earned two victories and a draw against college teams from south of the line.
 
The Okanagan Heat are coming off a split in their season opening weekend on home soil with back to back meetings against the UNBC Timberwolves. It began with a 2-1 victory last Friday night before UBCO was on the wrong end of that same score line the next night in suffering a 2-1 setback.

?? MSOC | T-Birds Goal!! Ryan Arthur gives @ubcmsoc a 3-2 lead with 11 minutes remaining with his 1st in his return to the UBC lineup #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/MmoogHpw8P

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) August 25, 2019

 

Coaches Take

 
"There were many positive elements from the first two games," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher when asked about the opening weekend results. "I thought we were pretty good in possession, we moved the ball relatively quickly and were patient enough in most cases.  Through this we generated several scoring chances and thus scored five goals over the two games which is positive. I was happy we kept a clean sheet in the game at UFV, but disappointed in the goals conceded versus TWU, especially the first goal where there were several defensive lapses.  We want to be harder to score on."
 
Mosher went on to say he expects some intense competition in both Kamloops and Kelowna this weekend.
 
"TRU has proved to be as tough a game as we see over the past couple years," added Mosher. "They are committed, motivated and physical and ask questions of you. I think we often see them at their best.  We will need to be ready for a competitive battle there for sure.  As for UBCO, like most teams in the conference I expect to see a well-organized team that will look to also make the game difficult for us.  In both cases we will want to push the pace of the game and control possession."