Abbotsford – The UFV Cascades men’s team were flying tonight as they stormed their way to a 3-0 victory over the TRU WolfPack, and not only because of the four game win streak they are currently riding. Mark Village, UFV’s veteran keeper, was back on the pitch after missing the first half of the season with a concussion, providing an immediate boost to the Cascades’ confidence and play.
UFV improves to 4-3-0 on the year, while TRU continues to struggle at 0-4-1. The Cascades have shut out their WolfPack opponents in both matches this season, but tonight saw an obviously more confident UFV side control the play on both ends of the pitch. Village’s return brings an essential stability to the team as they gear up for a series of tough games against Victoria, UBC, and TWU to end the season.
Tonight’s scoring began in the 36th minute after a penalty shot was awarded to the Cascades for an infraction against striker Justin Sekhon inside the box. Colton O’Neill was once again the designated UFV kicker (he has taken all three UFV penalties this season), and once again converted with a low shot to the left side.
Three minutes later the Cascades scored again. Justin Sekhon got his head on a precisely placed corner kick from Ryan Liddiard to double the UFV lead and put up his first goal of the season. Liddiard would score himself in the 60th minute with a beautiful rising shot from a set piece. The strike beat TRU keeper Travis Froehlich cleanly and gives Liddiard the distinction of currently being on a two-game goal streak – a very rare thing for a defender.
“I think the first ten or fifteen minutes were pretty scrappy,” said Cascades assistant coach Tom Lowndes, “but then we got a foothold in the game. The lads dug in and they worked hard, and I think three to nil was a fair reflection.”
The Cascades began the season by losing three games, but have won all of the last four. The difference, according to Lowndes, wasn’t a revolutionary change in the team, but instead a little serendipity. “In all honesty, in the first couple games we were 0-3 and we could have easily ended up 3-0,” he said. “We were very unlucky to not take points in those first three games, and we just said the lads needed to keep working hard until the bad bounces started going our way.
Colton O’Neill once again stood out on the UFV back line. “Every single week we say what a good player he is, but I think he gets overlooked sometimes because he’s a defender,” said Lowndes. “He wins tackles, he wins headers, he never gives the ball away. He’s that competitive spirit that energizes the whole team.”
UFV striker Elijah Sampson would benefit from multiple opportunities to score in the last minutes of the second half, but simply couldn’t find the angle or the quality to send one home. Still, the sheer number of UFV shots (18 to TRU’s five) indicates the potency of a UFV offense that has grown steadily more dangerous as the season progresses.
The Cascades will play the UBCO Heat tomorrow (Sept 27) at 7:30 pm at Abby Senior in Abbotsford. The WolfPack will travel to TWU tomorrow to take on the Spartans at 7 pm. All games will be streamed with live video and stats at http://canadawest.tv
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