VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Trinity Western men's soccer team had a strong showing Saturday night in Vancouver as the un-ranked Spartans earned a 1-1 tie against the top-ranked No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds at Thunderbird Stadium. Both teams remain unbeaten in Canada West conference play with TWU at 3-0-3, UBC drops their first points of the season and moves to 5-0-1.

TWU third-year keeper Yeshua Silwamba (Maple Ridge, B.C.) made eight saves to earn the draw, while his counterpart with UBC, Bennett McKay made five saves.

Spartans third-year forward Charles Nana (Calgary, AB) scored the Spartans lone goal in the 66^th minute.

UBC's goal came on a penalty kick by Sebastian Ozikowski in the 82^nd minute.

AS IT HAPPENED
It was a hot evening to start this one on the Point Grey campus, and whether it was from the heat or the tiredness of a second game in 24 hours, the first half was played at a slow, almost pedestrian, pace for much of it, with both sides trying to pick out the perfect pass to unlock two resolute defences.
 
Both teams fired in some shots on goals without really troubling either keeper, with a long-range effort from Brennan Fuerst and a couple of looks on goal from Logan Chung the best UBC mustered in the first half hour.
 
The game sprung into life in the 38^th minute as both sides had great chances to break the deadlock.
 
A Trinity Western corner saw the ball eventually come through to first-year defender Vito Di Cotiis (Burnaby, B.C.) at the far post and he brought out a strong close-range block from Bennett McKay.
 
UBC went straight up the pitch and Connor Mrazek's acrobatic scissor kick brought out an equally fantastic save from Silwamba, who tipped the effort over and kept the game scoreless.
 
The second half started livelier and third-year midfielder Francis Powell (Coquitlam, B.C.) shot wide for the Spartans five minutes after the restart after being played in by a lovely backheel from Nana.
 
UBC were enjoying the better of the possession but it was Trinity Western who were looking more dangerous in front of goal and it was the Spartans who finally broke the deadlock in the 66^th minute as they kept the pressure on from a corner. Second-year forward Keishean Francois (White Rock, B.C.) played the ball out to Nana on the edge of the box, who curled a beauty past McKay for his team-leading third of the season.
 
The goal sparked UBC into life and as the match entered the last 10 minutes they piled the pressure on the Spartans defence, winning four corners in quick succession and their equalizer came from a scramble in the box that led to a handball and a Thunderbirds penalty.
 
Dzikowski stepped up to drill home the spot kick and the hosts were back level.
 
The Thunderbirds looked the most likely to find the winner in the closing stages, coming close with a couple of chances in stoppage time, the best being a Luke Norman curler that Shilwamba brilliantly turned away at full stretch.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Mike Shearon
"I thought we played well tonight. It was a back-and-forth game. A good performance from Yeshua tonight, as well as the back line. Everybody put in a good shift both on attack and defensively."
 
"A little bit disappointed obviously in giving up a penalty. It's frustrating because I think we could have gotten out of here with the victory."
 
"Overall proud of the boys. We just have to regroup and not allow giving up victories to become a habit and start to put some games away."
 
NOTABLE

• UBC enters this weekend ranked No. 1 in U SPORTS after the first ranking of 2023, while TWU and Victoria are unranked.
• UBC had a 19-9 edge in total shots and a 9-6 edge in shots on goal.
• The Thunderbirds also had the edge in corner kicks 6-2.
• TWU committed 16 fouls, while UBC had 12. The T-birds also had two yellow cards.
• TWU tied Victoria 1-1 Friday night in Victoria, B.C.
• UBC beat UFV 2-0 Friday night in Vancouver, B.C.
• The Spartans are currently 11-26-14 lifetime against the Thunderbirds.
• Last season UBC defeated TWU 3-1 in Vancouver and 2-1 in Langley, BC.
• TWU last defeated UBC in Canada West play on October 18, 2019, when the Spartans prevailed 4-1.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will now travel to Calgary to take on the Calgary Dinos next weekend. Match time at Dinosaur Field on Saturday, September 16 is set for 2:15 p.m. MT. The match can be seen live on Canada West TV.
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in U SPORTS. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  
 
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