UBCO Heat men fall 1-0 to Trinity Western

KELOWNA – For a second straight afternoon UBC Okanagan was held scoreless after the visiting Spartans slid by the Heat men's soccer team with a (1-0) victory on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Nonis Sports Field in Kelowna.

Trinity Western striker Leighton Johnson provided the visiting side with the lead midway through the first half with a calm finish past charging Heat keeper Tait Cuthill, he was was assisted by Elijah Adekugbe who facilitated the finish with an excellent through ball. Cuthill made seven saves on the night for UBC Okanagan.

Johnson, was on the attack again, he also created an excellent additional scoring opportunity midway through the second half, cutting past Cuthill, only to be denied by Heat defenders clearing the ball off the goal line.

UBC Okanagan did a solid job of controlling possession for most of the match, and generated 10 shots, nine of which were on target. It was the solid play of Andrew Hicks in net for TWU, who won his second straight match for the Spartans as he turned away all of the Heat attempts for his first clean sheet of the season.

Hamish Walde, a first year player, and Brandon McCallum both tallied two shots on net, tied for most on the team, and did so despite starting in the backfield. Enzo Paal, normally tasked with finishing for the Heat, adapted to the midfield and provided the Heat with an edge in the attacking area of the field and was instrumental in providing the Heat with a late surge to as the home squad continually pushed for the equalizer and gave the match an exciting and nervy end.

After Sunday UBC Okanagan's conference record dips to (0-2-0) will be look to capture their first conference win of the season, after going undefeated in the preseason, with a second straight home weekend as they host UNBC this Friday and Saturday (September 18-19). Both matches will be played under the lights on the Nonis Sports Field with a 6 p.m. start time.

Trinity Western start their season undefeated (2-0-0) and will travel to Victoria to play the undefeated Vikes (2-0-1) on Friday Sept. 18. Then on Saturday TWU will play UBC  at Thunderbird Stadium, both nights the matches are set to begin at 7:15 p.m.