KELOWNA, B.C. – The Thunderbirds (4-0) ran rampant on Friday night, taking down the UBC Okanagan Heat (0-3) to the tune of a 5-0 scoreline.
Oliver Herbert was the star of the show with a natural hat trick that spanned both sides of halftime, while Max Comsia also continued his hot start to the season with his fourth goal in as many games.
It was the reigning Canada West Player of the Week who got the scoring going for the 'Birds, when Comsia pounced on a cross from Markus Rukavina that was poorly controlled by the UBCO 'keeper. That put the visitors up 1-0 inside five minutes, and they wouldn't look back from there.
Rukavina again played provider just a few minutes later, capitalizing on a Heat turnover deep in their own half and feeding the ball to Herbert at the top of the box. The Burnaby native calmly took a couple touches to set himself before placing the ball into the bottom right corner with precision.
Herbert's second came in the 40th minute, from close to the same spot but with much more power behind the strike. That marked the first time in the midfielder's UBC career that he'd scored multiple goals in a game, and the night would only get sweeter in the second half.
On a play that also marked a hat trick of assists for Rukavina, the T-Birds' forward got the better of a Heat defender and drove the ball to the end line before cutting it back to an onrushing Herbert, who bundled it over the line for his third of the game.
It was then a Herbert corner kick that provided the final goal of the game in the 61st, a ball whipped in that bounced chaotically around the UBCO six-yard box – careening off multiple players and a post – before Eric Lajeunesse was able to tap it over the line.
Featuring second-year goalkeeper Hayden Franks making his first career Canada West start, the T-Birds' defence earned its fourth consecutive clean sheet in style, allowing just two shot attempts over the full 90 minutes. The result marks the first time in over 15 years that the 'Birds have started Canada West play with four straight shutouts.
The blue and gold will be back on the road for both their games next weekend, first heading to Abbotsford to take on the UFV Cascades on Friday night before flying up to Prince George to battle the UNBC Timberwolves on Sunday afternoon.
