VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds are coming home with a weekend split thanks to a gutsy road effort Sunday in Calgary.
Sebastian Dzikowski (1) and
Logan Chung (3) struck seven minutes apart in the first half for UBC in what ended as a 2-1 victory over the University of Calgary. Derek Brust had the one tally in response for the Dinos who have now dropped seven straight games to UBC dating back to September 7, 2012.
"It was a really good response and a positive performance after a tough loss at MRU yesterday," said head coach
Mike Mosher. "I thought we were excellent in the first half and we generated a lot of really good chances. If it weren't for their goalkeeper and a few shots that went off the woodwork, I thought we were deserving to be at least two up on the balance of the first half."
With the sting of Saturday's 1-0 loss to Mount Royal still looming,
Mike Mosher's squad began their Sunday match by weathering some early pressure that included two corner kicks and a shot attempt from Eric Kobza that goalkeeper Axel Thulin Lennseli turned aside.
UBC's defensive resilience was rewarded in the 16
th minute when second-year forward
Sebastian Dzikowski struck for his first goal of the 2022 Canada West season. Initially there was some confusion as to whether Dzikowski had scored, but after receiving a pass from
Daniel Kaiser, Dzikowski hammered a shot from in close that Calgary keeper Jake Ruschkowski blocked, but the momentum of the shot forced Ruschkowski and the ball 'just' behind the goal line, giving the visitors their first lead of the weekend.
Dzikowski nearly made it 2-0 a few minutes later, but his shot from the left-wing thudded off the goal post in the 19
th minute to keep Calgary within one.
The blue and gold wouldn't have to wait much longer though to extend their lead. Third-year midfielder
Logan Chung made it a 2-0 game for UBC thanks to a strong, speedy individual attack from the right side of the field. Chung beat the Dino defender wide before placing a perfect low shot past the right post and the diving Ruschkowski.
The Dino comeback bid started in the 29
th minute when fourth-year forward Derek Brust potted his second marker of the season off a setup from William Omoreniye. Prust would finish with a team-high four shots despite only playing in 59 minutes for the home side.
Unfortunately for Calgary that's as close as they would get.
Late in the first half, UBC rookie
Eric Lajeunesse rung a high blast off the crossbar, which sparked a run of attack that also included shots from
Markus Kaiser and
Victory Shumbusho that Jake Ruschkowski stopped.
Defensively the Thunderbirds were full marks in the second half despite some scary moments created by the Dinos. Between the 56
th and 58
th minutes of play, the Dinos had three separate header attempts that were either denied or deflected wide.
From the 58
th minute onward though,
Mike Mosher's crew only allowed one final Calgary shot attempt from Milan Ponjevic (*87). UBC countered with five shots of their own in that same span.
Mosher added, "As good as we were in the first half with the ball, our ability to manage the game in the second half was very good as well. We kept the ball quite well. When it was their turn to have a go, we defended well. We made it difficult for them to establish solid possession. There were a few moments when they had half-chances, but we were nice and tight, but we got blocks and we were in the right spots."
The victory improved UBC's Canada West record to 4-2-0 and keeps them in the upper tier of the Pacific Division. Despite a pair of hard-luck losses, the T-Birds coach is encouraged by the big picture showing from his team through six games. He concludes, "We've played better and deserved better than 4-2 record would indicate. The performances in games even when we have lost have been encouraging. The boys are playing well both with and without the ball and they're a tight group."
The UBC Men return to Thunderbirds Stadium for a Sunday matinee showdown with the University of Saskatchewan on Sunday, September 25
th at 1:00 p.m.
