VANCOUVER – Eight games down, eight to go in the Canada West regular season. And for the UBC Thunderbirds, those eight games have all been wins.
They were made to work for it by the Pronghorns, who went out in front with an early goal. But the blue and gold then hit back with four unanswered, eventually taking the game 4-2 on a windy day in Lethbridge.
When Ben Gingras scored the opener for the hosts, it was the first time that UBC had conceded first in a game since all the way back on the opening weekend of the season. They weren't phased, however, and unlocked the Lethbridge defence with a beautiful piece of play less than 10 minutes later.
After
Luke Norman played an incisive pass into the box to
Markus Kaiser, the UBC captain laid a deft backheel touch into the feet of
Markus Rukavina, who finished off the play with his third goal of the season.
Before the half was out the T-Birds had scored twice more. First,
Henri Godbout won a penalty and stepped up to take it himself. While Pronghorns' keeper Tegan Romaine got a hand on it, the shot was too powerful to keep out. Then in first half stoppage time,
Joven Mann lined up to take a free kick from 25 yards out. He curled it towards the top corner, and the high amount of wind helped knuckle the ball past poor Romaine who was left helpless in goal.
Oliver Herbert put the game to bed with a nifty finish in the 88th minute, and while Samuel Okawa grabbed a consolation marker with a diving header soon after, there wasn't any doubt as to who was going to walk away with all three points.
The game was a big one for UBC goalie
Roko Vukic, who made his first career appearance in place of
Jack Garner. The second-year player made three saves on the day as he earned the win in net.
The T-Birds will be back at home next weekend, taking on Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan at Thunderbird Stadium on Friday, September 26th, and Saturday, September 27th.
