LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Spartans had a 19-1 edge in shots over UBC Okanagan, but it was the one Heat shot that held Trinity Western from collecting three points, as the Spartans were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie Saturday at Rogers Field.

Trinity Western's Elijah Adekugbe (Calgary) scored the Spartans lone goal late in the second half to salvage the tie after the Heat's Cole Kingzett had opened the scoring earlier in the half.

Despite TWU (3-2-1) firing five shots on target and holding large swaths of possession over the 90-minute contest, the Heat (2-4-2) was able to escape with a single point after keeping the Spartans to just one goal.

The initial 45 minutes saw a pressing Spartans team dominate possession, but they failed to break through. The second half saw more chances for TWU, but Adekugbe was the only Spartan to beat UBCO goalie Christopher Cuthill.

"Possession is pretty and it looks nice to the spectators, but what wins games is goals," said Spartans coach Pat Rohla. "They went ahead and we tied it up, but we missed a hatful of goals. Our performance was right. Our finish wasn't. That's not just the striker's fault. Everybody contributes in ways and we need to find ways to get goals when we need them. We outplayed them, but we just didn't get the three points.

"Last night was not a Picasso and we got three points. Tonight, we were much, much better and we only came away with one, which is fine, but it's not what we were aiming for."

Cuthill made four saves for the Heat, while TWU's Hicks only faced one shot on target.

With the tie, the Spartans remain in fourth place in the Pacific Division and are two points clear of UBCO with two games in hand.

Adekugbe nearly found the goal in the 10th minute, but his shot soared over the goal. Leighton Johnson (Calgary) and Jarvis Ambaka (Maragoli, Kenya) also had first half opportunities in the 16th and 27th minutes, but were left wanting. The Spartans did well with quick possession passes, but had only one of eight first half shots hit the target.

Joel Waterman (Aldergrove, B.C.) nearly put TWU on the board in first half stoppage time, but his shot bounced off the right post.

Just over 20 minutes into the second half, UBCO's Kingzett was sent in alone and slotted home his opportunity from just inside the box on what amounted to the Heat's only chance of the night.

With TWU pressing for the equaliser, Adekugbe finally scored in the 79th minute off a free kick from 30 yards out. The Calgarian midfielder whipped a shot through traffic and found the low right corner.

The last 10 minutes saw a final burst of energy from the Spartans as the momentum from the goal pushed them onwards. The best chance for a winner came when Domenic Poletto (Calgary) put a long-range shot off the crossbar.

Ambaka, who earned player of the game honours, also took a last-minute shot on goal that went sailed wide.

The Spartans continue their mid-season action Oct. 9 at University of the Fraser Valley with the game starting at 6:30 pm. UBCO will play a home-and-home series with Thompson Rivers Oct. 9-10.

Game Notes: Adekugbe and TWU's Matthew Roxburgh (Surrey, B.C.) were shown yellow cards…the Spartans had four players with at least three shots and eight players with at least one shot.

-TW-