LANGLEY, British Columbia – A challenging weekend for the Trinity Western men's soccer team saw the Spartans lose for the second night in a row to a ranked opponent as the home side fell 2-0 to No. 7 UBC Saturday at Rogers Field.

Titouan Chopin and Luke Griffin scored for UBC to help the T-Birds improve to 2-0-1 on the season. The Spartans second loss in as many nights – TWU dropped a 1-0 decision against No. 8 Victoria Friday – sees them fall to 2-2-0.

Despite a strong surge from the Spartans early in the first half, the T-Birds got on the board first and from there it was the visitors largely setting the tone for the rest of the game

Chopin opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Griffin sealed the deal with a 64th-minute marker.

Similar to Friday's loss, the Spartans had plenty of possession in the midfield, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities in the box and, defensively, fell subject to a potent T-Birds attack.

"We lost six points this weekend because we got counter-attacked three times," said Spartans coach Pat Rohla. "Were we good between the boxes? I think we're as good as any team in the league. But, where the game is really won and lost is in the 18-yard boxes.

"We're disappointed with how we didn't finish (our chances) this weekend, but there were some good pieces that we take out of this in terms of how we play. Guys are trying to do the right thing, but it's those critical moments in the boxes that let us down."

TWU goalie Andrew Hicks (Surrey, B.C.) stopped two of UBC's four shots on target while T-Birds goalie Chad Bush was good on all three shots he faced.

The Spartans started the game on the offensive, but it didn't take too long for the flow of play to swing the T-Birds way. With momentum on his team's side, Chopin took advantage to give UBC the lead. Gagan Dosanjh sent Chopin a through ball that sprung the T-Birds goal-scorer in alone. With no one between him and Hicks, Chopin converted his opportunity.

TWU had its best chance of the first half in the 40th minute when the Spartans had a scrambled opportunity in the box that resulted in a shot at goal. However the T-Birds blocked the crack towards target from 12 yards out, snuffing out the chance.

The T-Birds nearly doubled their lead late in the first half, but Hicks made a brilliant diving save on Harry Lakhen to keep the difference at one.

After the break, the T-Birds pressed for insurance and Griffin provided.

Taking a feed from Chris Serban, Griffin stepped off the left wing and whipped a shot past Hicks to the far low corner.

The Spartans best chance of the night came in the 90th minute, when Vito Poletto (Calgary) took a ball at the top of the box and blasted a shot on target, only to see it deflected above the net by a leaping Bush.

The Spartans have a bye next week before returning to Canada West action Oct. 2-3, when they host Thompson Rivers and UBC Okanagan. The T-Birds will host TRU Oct. 25 and UBCO Oct. 26.

Game Notes: TWU saw two yellow cards, as both Sebastian Wingfield (Steilacoom, Wash.) and Vito Polleto were booked…UBC had a 13-9 edge in shots and a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks…last year, TWU lost 3-0 against UBC in their only meeting at Rogers Field.

-TW-