Scheduled Game: VICTORIA*

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GAME RESULTS 1 2 T Victoria 0 1 1 TRINITY WESTERN 2 1 3 « FINAL

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Game Recap

MEN’S SOCCER (CANADA WEST)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2012
TRINITY WESTERN (3) VICTORIA (1)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS KNOCK OFF NO. 1 VICTORIA

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Sparked by a pair of first half goals from midfielder Jason Wiens (Coaldale, Alta.), the Trinity Western men’s soccer team earned a 3-1 upset win over No. 1 Victoria at Rogers Field Friday.

Thanks to an impressive defensive effort that shutdown a typically strong Vikes attack – one that includes last year’s Canada West Rookie of the Year and CIS tournament MVP Cam Hundal (Terrace, B.C.) and Canada West First Team All-Star Craig Gorman (Victoria) – the Spartans proved to be the better team throughout the match and were full marks for the victory.

With Wiens netting his second and third goals of the season in the 24th and 35th minutes respectively, the Spartans took a 2-0 lead into halftime. After the break, Trinity Western pushed for their third goal and in the 66th minute got what they were looking for when Spencer Schmidt (Abbotsford, B.C.) struck his first goal of the campaign. Victoria’s Gorman converted a penalty in the 89th minute to end the Spartans clean sheet aspirations but that was all the Vikes were to get on this night.

With the win, the Spartans have now not lost to Victoria at home since 2008.

The win improves the Spartans record to 2-0-1 while the loss drops Victoria to 2-1-0.

“I think it was a complete game for us,” said Spartans coach Pat Rohla. “I thought from front to back that was the best cohesion and linkage we've had in some time. We showed them that we could play and emotionally the biggest thing for us is that we believe we can play with them and I thought we did that.

“We were patient and we tried to stay poised and we tried to keep possession a little more. Rather than just smashing the ball around the field, we tried to keep the ball more, which kept them out of possession. [But] I thought our four players in the midfield won the day. They were just spectacular.”

Trinity Western was the better team early on and after an opening 20 minutes which produced few chances on either side, it was the Spartans most deservedly breaking the deadlock. With the ball at his feet from 25 yards out, Jason Wiens let go a cracker of a shot that beat Vikes goalie Elliot Mitrou (Victoria) clean to the top left corner.

With a 1-0 lead, the Spartans kept pressing and 11 minutes later it was Wiens at it again as he got his head to a Schmidt free kick from inside the six-yard box and, putting it off the hands of Mitro and in, earned his second tally of the night.

Five minutes into the second half, the Vikes nearly made it a one-goal affair when several Victoria players got a touch on the ball from inside the six-yard box but Spartans goalie Evan Lowther (Surrey), helped by a fortunate bounce or two, managed to keep the ball out.

From there, however, the Spartans continued to push their offensive agenda and 20 minutes into the half Schmidt took a pass off the right wing from Jarvis Ambaka (Maragoli, Kenya) and, with a window of space in the middle of the park near the top of the box, buried Trinity Western’s third of the night.

In the final 15 minutes, Victoria pressured the Spartans but, with solid play from Trinity Western’s back line, was unable to generate much in the way of high quality chances.

In the dying minutes the Vikes got their lone goal of the night when Gorman slotted his penalty kick home to the low right corner past a diving Lowther. The penalty opportunity came when Lowther was shown a yellow card after he dove at the feet of Hundal inside the box and took down the Vikes midfielder.  

The Spartans are back on the pitch Saturday when they host Fraser Valley at 7 p.m. Victoria continues its Lower Mainland road trip as they will play No. 6 UBC Saturday at 8 p.m.  

Notes – TWU had seven shots on goal to Victoria’s five…Victoria had 17 total shots to TWU’s 14…Victoria’s Gavin Barrett was shown a yellow in second half stoppage time.

-TW-

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