Scheduled Game: @British Columbia*

2

GAME RESULTS 1 2 T Trinity Western 0 2 2 British Columbia 2 0 2

2

Game Recap

Men's Soccer (Canada West)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
TWU Spartans (2) at the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (2)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS TIE FIRST PLACE THUNDERBIRDS

VANCOUVER - It's not how you start but how you finish. And on Sunday afternoon the Trinity Western University men's soccer team overcame a poor start to tie the No. 1 ranked University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 2-2 Sunday afternoon at Thunderbird Park. The tie keeps the Thunderbirds unbeaten at 7-0-4, while moves the Spartans to 5-3-3.

"It was an incredibly exciting game and I'm incredibly proud of the way our guys battled and came back against the top team in our conference," said TWU head coach Al Alderson. "We had tons of heart and the passion. All the things that you want to see out of a young team as we get sharper at he time of year when you want to be improving. I'm not usually happy with a tie, but considering the circumstances and that we were down two I'll take it."

The Spartans found themselves in the same position that the T-Birds were in on Saturday heading into halftime, down two goals after being outplayed in the first half. And like the T-Birds yesterday, they turned it on early in the second half, scoring two goals within 11 minutes of the kickoff, and hanging on to earn the single point.

"We did not play very well to start. But we made some adjustments at half time and were able to get some immediate benefits out of it," added Alderson. "We battled hard in the second half and we just kept getting better and better as the half went on."

Forward David Rowse (4th year, St. Albert, Alta.) brought the Spartans within one just four minutes after the second half kicked off, when he received a header pass from forward Daniel Lowen (2nd year, Langley, B.C.) inside the 18 yard box and beat UBC keeper Srdjan Djekanovic from close range. "David Rowse had an outstanding game today he battled hard and played fantastic," said Alderson.

Seven minutes later it was Mustafa Demirci (5th year, midfielder, Ankara, Turkey) who got the equalizer with a well-struck penalty kick after a Trinity Western player was fouled as he was making a run down the side of the box.

The rest of the second half was fairly even, with both sides creating chances but failing to find the go-ahead goal. Colin Jones had the best opportunity for UBC in injury time, when he collected the ball 16 yards out in front of the Spartans goal and spun away from the defender, only to have his shot sail wide.

Sebastian Crema opened the scoring for UBC with his second goal of the weekend in the 16th minute, when Tyson Keam's long through-ball caught Trinity Western keeper Andrew Kowan (Richmond, B.C.) off-guard, allowing Crema to collect the ball with a lot of open net to shoot at. They doubled their lead just before halftime with another goal set up by Keam. This time it was a free kick from Keam that found Jorge Angel-Mira at the edge of the 18 yard box, and he was able to corral the pass and hit a low strike just inside the far post to make it 2-0 UBC.

The T-Birds now find themselves tied for first in the conference with the Victoria Vikes, while the Spartans remain five points behind in third. UBC has clinched a playoff spot already, but with home field advantage for the Canada West tournament on the line, the Vikes - T-Birds season finale is shaping up to be a critically important match-up.

Next week the T-Birds are on the road against Calgary and Lethbridge, while the Spartans will host Saskatchewan and Alberta.

-TW-

-contributions UBC Sports Information

Play-by-Play

Photo Gallery