LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans outscored the UBC Thunderbirds 21-14 in the second half, but a 28-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome as the Spartans fell 42-21 Friday night at The Stadium at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
 
Fourth-year centre Jacob Goroza (Coquitlam, B.C.), third-year flanker/8-man Caleb Graham (Cochrane, Alta.) and second-year flanker/8-man Benard Bjorndal (Abbotsford, B.C.) each scored a try for the Spartans. Second-year fly half Bernabé Sosa Rey (Yerba Buena, Tucumán) converted TWU's first two tries, with first-year flyhalf, fullback Liam de Goede (Surrey, B.C.) scoring the final TWU try.
 
UBC's Joe McNulty and Cody Nhanala scored two tries apiece, while Viktor Wozniak and Max McGavern added one each. James Biss kicked five conversions and Stephen Webb added one for the Thunderbirds.
UBC opened the scoring in the seventh minute when McNulty crossed the line for the first of his two tries. Nhanala followed with tries in the 13th and 36th minutes, while Wozniak scored in the 24th minute. Biss converted all four as the Thunderbirds took a 28-0 lead into halftime.
 
The Spartans responded seven minutes into the second half when Goroza scored TWU's first try of the match and Sosa Rey added the conversion, cutting the deficit to 28-7.
 
McGavern answered for UBC in the 52nd minute, but TWU came back with its second converted try seven minutes later. Graham crossed the line in the 59th minute before Sosa Rey's conversion made it 35-14.
 
McNulty collected his second try in the 69th minute, with Webb adding the conversion to restore UBC's 28-point advantage. Bjorndal completed the scoring with a try in the 82nd minute, followed by a successful TWU conversion by Liam de Goede, to make the final 42-21.
 
QUOTABLE
Andrew Evans, TWU Head Coach
"Our Spartans put in another hard-fought performance on the pitch this week, falling 42-21 to the UBC Thunderbirds. While the final score didn't go our way, the effort and progress shown by the entire program continue to be clear."
 
"Our set piece remained solid once again, featuring a dominant scrum and an effective lineout on both attack and defence. Facing UBC, always a high-quality side, provided a valuable opportunity to compete at the rising level of Canadian rugby. Cody Nahalna and Stephen Webb proved difficult to contain, yet players such as Tristan Walde, Caleb Graham, and Ben Bjorndal stood out with stout defensive efforts."
 
"The match also marked 1XV debuts for Lucas Moski and Evan Carlson. Both have been working tirelessly in early-morning sessions to earn the chance to represent Trinity Western, and they took full advantage of the opportunity."
 
"Finally, thank you to everyone who has donated goods or funds toward our Spartans Rugby Fiji Project this upcoming year. We are grateful for the impact your generosity will have."
 
SCORING SUMMARY
First Half
7' – UBC try: Joe McNulty; conversion: James Biss – UBC 7-0
13' – UBC try: Cody Nhanala; conversion: James Biss – UBC 14-0
24' – UBC try: Viktor Wozniak; conversion: James Biss – UBC 21-0
36' – UBC try: Cody Nhanala; conversion: James Biss – UBC 28-0
Second Half
47' – TWU try: Jacob Goroza; conversion: Bernabé Sosa Rey – UBC 28-7
52' – UBC try: Max McGavern; conversion: James Biss – UBC 35-7
59' – TWU try: Caleb Graham; conversion: Bernabé Sosa Rey – UBC 35-14
69' – UBC try: Joe McNulty; conversion: Stephen Webb – UBC 42-14
82' – TWU try: Benard Bjorndal; conversion Liam de Goede – UBC 42-21
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will travel to Victoria to take on the Victoria Vikes on Saturday, October 10 at Wallace Field in Victoria, B.C. The Coastal Cup match is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. (PT).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outscored the Thunderbirds 21-14 in the second half.
• TWU scored three converted tries after trailing 28-0 at halftime.
• Bjorndal has scored three tries over TWU's last two Coastal Cup matches.
• The Spartans are now 0-11 all-time against the Thunderbirds.
• UBC defeated TWU 66-0 in the teams' first meeting of the season on September 4 in Vancouver.
• TWU moves to 1-4 in first-team matches this season and 0-3 in Coastal Cup play.

 
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 and field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes independently in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since joining U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning and holds three Canada Research Chairs. Through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education, TWU offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and adult degree-completion programs that equip leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
 
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