MEN’S SOCCER HOSTS NO. 2 UBC FRIDAY

MEN’S SOCCER
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2011
WEEKEND PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEN’S SOCCER HOSTS NO. 2 UBC FRIDAY


LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western University men’s soccer team continues its Canada West regular season home slate this weekend as they host No. 2 ranked UBC Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The Spartans are coming off an opening weekend split, losing to Fraser Valley Friday but beating Victoria Saturday, and will look to add to their win total against the Thunderbirds.

Click here to watch the game live.

SPARTANS (1-1-0)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standing: 3rd (tied)
Last Week: UFV 1-0 L, Victoria 2-1 W
Streak: 1 Win
2010 CW Record: 5-5-4, 5th
2010 CW Tournament: N/A
2010 CIS Tournament: N/A
Last CW Title: 2007
Last CIS Title: N/A

After starting the season with a bit of a ho-hum  weekend, one  that included a win over Victoria but a loss to Fraser Valley,  the Spartans men’s soccer team will have a chance to make a major statement Friday when No. 2 ranked UBC comes to Rogers Park.

While the defending CIS silver-medalists come with plenty of swagger, the Spartans are by no means intimidated by their Point Grey based foes.

The last time Trinity Western and UBC met, it was a typically feisty contest between the rival schools as the teams combined for one red card and four yellows. The game ended in a bittersweet 2-2 draw that felt more like a loss for the Spartans as UBC equalised on an additional time penalty kick. So, coming into Friday’s match, the Spartans will have a score to settle.

After TWU lost its first game of this season in rather sloppy fashion to Fraser Valley, the Spartans played a much better contest Saturday against Victoria and will need to play with similar pace and fluidity this Friday if they hope to earn a victory.

Much-heralded transfer forward Spencer Schmidt got his first regular season goal in a Spartans uniform on Saturday and he will surely be counted upon to continue his strong play against UBC.

While Schmidt will conduct the train up front, the Spartans defence and goaltending will be a central storyline to follow as they look to control a UBC offence that has been nothing short of dynamite in its first two outings. The foursome of Rhys and Brayden Volkenant, Liam McAllister and James Farenhorst, all of whom started both games last weekend, will be relied upon to shut down the T-Birds. In net Andrew Fink will likely start his third game in a row and, having only allowed two goals in his first two games, will need keep up that pace or even improve upon it if TWU is to get the win.

The last time the Spartans beat UBC was Oct. 2, 2009 when they won 2-1 at home.

THUNDERBIRDS (2-0-0)
CIS Ranking: 2nd
Canada West Standing: 1st (tied)
Last Week: Victoria 4-0 W, UFV 4-2 W
Streak: 2 Wins
2010 CW Record: 8-3-3, (2nd)
2010 CW Tournament: 2-0, (1st)
2010 CIS Tournament: 2-1 (2nd)
Last CW title: 2010
Last CIS title: 2007

The Thunderbirds enter this weekend’s tilt ranked No. 2 in the CIS and having won their first two games of the Canada West regular season by a combined score of 8-2.

After coming one win short of a CIS championship last year, UBC returns a veteran squad that is hungry to get back to the dance and, this time, win it all. And so far, they’ve looked pretty good.

In just their first two games, Marco Visintin already has three goals to his name, while Navid Mashinchi, who was named this week’s Canada West male athlete of the week, and Sean Haley, each have two. The Thunderbirds leading goal scorer from last year, Gagandeep Dosanjh has the other goal. Add to that newly minted forward Cameron Davis from the Ottawa Fury of the USL PDL and you have the making of a strong goal-scoring unit.

In the middle of the park, Mashinchi will be joined by Canada West all-star Brandon Bonifacio, senior Tyson Keam and former Canada West Rookie of the Year Devon Gunenc.

On the back end, the Thunderbirds are led by All-Canadian defender Jason Gill and Canada West all-stars Will Hyde and Matt Allard and, when he’s available, Kent O’Connor who has played with German and Danish clubs and also made an appearance with Toronto FC of the MLS. Gill, Hyde and Allard are the only Thunderbirds to have played every minute so far this year.

In net, expect goalkeeper Richard Meister to shoulder the bulk of the UBC goaltending duties. Through two games though, that load has been rather manageable as, thanks to a pair of strong defensive efforts, he’s only been forced to make a total of five saves on seven shots.

The last time UBC knocked off Trinity Western was in last year’s season opener, winning 3-0 as Visintin, Allard and Ashley Ankiewicz scored for the T-Birds.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2011-09-14
Author: Mark Janzen