The UBC Okanagan Heat men's soccer team looked poised to steal three points on the road from the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night but a pair of late goals from the hosts flipped the game on its head as the Heat fell 2-1 in their regular season opener.
Fourth-year midfielder Alex Sol of Langley, B.C., gave the visiting Heat a dream start in the 27th minute as he opened the scoring with his second career goal. Off a corner kick, the ball bounced around in the box before falling to Sol, who fired it past UBC keeper Bennett McKay of Delta, B.C., to give UBCO a 1-0 advantage.
UBCO would play stingy defence against the top-ranked team in the Canada West preseason poll following the goal as they limited UBC to very few quality scoring opportunities.
The defensive effort was highlighted in the 61st minute when second-year midfielder Varun Kothary of Burnaby, B.C., headed the ball off the line to keep the Heat in the lead.
However, the wheels would fall off for UBCO in the dying minutes as the Thunderbirds equaled from the spot in the 87th minute before netting the game winner in added time to secure all three points on home turf.
TOP PLAYERS
D Tavin Williams - UBCO
The rookie defender from Victoria played all 90 minutes in his Heat debut and was a threat on both sides of the ball. He played a crucial role in limiting the powerful Thunderbirds to just six shots on target while also finish the match with a team-best three shots, including hitting the post twice inside the opening three minutes of the match.
MF Luke Norman - UBC
The second-year midfielder from Vancouver came off the bench to score the winning goal on Friday night as he also recorded two of his team's six shots on goal.
The UBC Okanagan Heat men's soccer team suffered their second straight loss to open the 2024 season on Sunday afternoon as they suffered a 4-1 setback against the Victoria Vikes.
After opening their season with a victory on Friday night, the Vikes came out of the gates strong on Sunday, scoring twice in the opening 40 minutes to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
UBCO looked for a spark to start the second half as they brought on rookie Jaise Shaw of Calgary at halftime and it nearly paid off three minutes in when Shaw found senior Zack MacInnes of Kelowna, B.C., in the box but his effort was denied by Vikes keeper Callum Weir of Haines Junction, YK.
The game would then turn physical with three yellow cards handed out in quick succession as the two teams pushed for an edge but it would be the Vikes who would get the next goal, going ahead 3-0 in the 68th minute thanks to Matthew Pearse's (Victoria) second goal of the match.
The Heat tried to make a late run and were rewarded with a goal in the 74th minute when Jacob York of Port Coquitlam, B.C., brought down a ball in the box before finishing to break Weir's clean sheet bid. However, the Vikes would add another in added time to come away with the win.
TOP PERFORMERS
D Jacob York – UBCO
The fifth-year senior scored the fourth goal of his Heat career on Sunday, and first since the 2021 season, on a tidy finish in the box.
MF Matthew Pearse – Victoria
The second-year midfielder and member of the 2023 Canada West All-Rookie team scored his third and fourth goals of the season to continue his hot start to the 2024 campaign.
UP NEXT
UBCO (0-2-0) will return to Kelowna for their 2024 home opener as they get set to host the UFV Cascades (2-0-0) at Nonis Sports Field on Friday, August 30. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and tickets to the game are free for all fans.