KELOWNA, British Columbia – The Trinity Western University men's soccer team finished their first weekend of Canada West play with a 1-0 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat Sunday afternoon at Nonis Sports Field in Kelowna, B.C. The victory moves the Spartans to 2-0 in conference play, while the loss drops the Heat to 0-2.

"The boys played very well. Particularly in the first half. We had good ball movement and lots of possession and were unfortunate not to have finished a few of our chances, which made the end difficult," commented TWU head coach Pat Rohla. "But the boys responded and held off the late challenge. Andrew Hicks was tremendous in the back and came up big when we needed it." 

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

Johnson 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.

It was the solid play of fourth year keeper Andrew Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) in net for TWU, who won his second straight match for the Spartans, that made the difference as he turned away all of the Heat attempts for his first clean sheet of the season. 

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. 

Next week TWU opens home action when they host the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia at Rogers Field September 18 and 19. Both matches are scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. kick-off. UBC Okanagan will remain at home next week as they host UNBC Friday and Saturday. Both matches will be played under the lights on the Nonis Sports Field with a 6 p.m. start time. 

Match Notes: TWU outshot UBC-O 15-10 and 10 to 7 in shots on target…the Spartans had a 6-to-1 edge in corner kicks… a yellow card was given to UBC-O's Cole Kingzett in the 32^nd minute…Rookie forward Domenic Poletto (Calgary) led the Spartans with six shots, three of which were on target… 

-TW-