Late tallies push T-Birds into Sunday semifinal

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds’ defence of their Canada West men’s soccer title continued apace at a wet and wild Thunderbird Stadium on Friday evening with a hard-fought 2-0 quarter-final victory over the Alberta Golden Bears.

UBC struggled to break down Alberta’s defensive lines and had to wait until the 77th minute to find the breakthrough from Henri Godbout. A second from Theo Afework six minutes later put the game to bed and allowed UBC to move on to Sunday’s semi-final and a meeting with the only team to take points off them this season, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades. 

“It wasn’t far off what we expected,” was the honest opinion of UBC head coach Mike Mosher after the match. “They sat very deep and made it very difficult. The message at half time was just patience, patience. Keep moving the ball with purpose, quality, and pace and we’re going to get some chances. Then we’ve got to convert.

“Then the game changes. They’ve got to come and play and then boom, we get the second one. That’s two games in a row where we’ve not allowed a shot on goal against them, and that’s a good side. Now their tactics are that they sit very deep, but so be it.”

UBC dominated the first half play and had some good early chances, but couldn’t find a way through a resolute Alberta defence.

Luke Norman fired narrowly over three minutes in, before an Eric Lajeunesse header just went wide of the left post four minutes later.

The closest UBC came was a cross into the box in the 15th minute that Afework just failed to connect with in front of goal, but then bounced agonisingly inches past the far post.

Alberta failed to register a shot on target in the first half, but their solid defensive play was clearly causing problems for UBC and the task ahead for them was to try and find a way through.

UBC almost broke the deadlock eight minutes after the restart when Max Comsia cut the ball back to Afework, but the Thunderbirds rookie was denied by a brilliant double save from Trystan Read in the Alberta goal.

The breakthrough finally came in the 77th minute and there was an element of fortune to it as Joven Mann whipped a cross in which came off the chest of Godbout and carried past Read over the line.

It felt the kind of game where something like that was going to be what broke the deadlock and buoyed by that, the Thunderbirds almost added a quick second moments later, but Oliver Herbert was denied by a great save from Read. 

The Thunderbirds got their killer second with seven minutes remaining. Read again came up big to deny Godbout, but the rebound fell to Afework in front of goal and he tucked it away from eight yards out.

UBC will now play their lower mainland rivals, the Fraser Valley Cascades in Sunday’s semi-final at Thunderbird Stadium, where a win will secure them a place at next month’s U SPORTS men’s soccer championship in Toronto.