KELOWNA, British Columbia – The No. 7 (Coaches Poll) Trinity Western Spartans scored three second-half goals to open the Canada West season with a 3-1 win over the No. 13 (Coaches Poll) UBC Okanagan Heat Thursday night at Nonis Sports Field in Kelowna, B.C.
Scoring for the Spartans were second-year defender
Jackson Van den Brink (Langley, B.C.) (47'), rookie forward
Elijah Bean (Edmonton, AB) (71'), and fifth-year forward
Xander Roxburgh (Langley, B.C.) (76').
Scoring for the Heat was Will Armitage (30').
TWU first-year keeper
Jakob Frank (Ladner, B.C.) made two saves to earn his first Canada West victory, while UBC Okanagan's Ronan Woodroffe made four saves in the Heat loss.
QUOTABLE
Mike Shearon, TWU Head Coach
"I'm super happy about the performance today. Traditionally, this is a very tough place for us to come play, get a result, and walk away with a 3-1 win after going down a goal. It means a lot for this group. The play that we showed today and the heart and the desire was just great. Each player showed a lot of respect for their ability, for the team, and for the overall school today - just going out there and giving the best performance that they could. There's not one standout performance, but it was good to get a lot of guys who are in their first games with us lots of minutes today. It was good to get JLo (Jacob Low) going again after his break. I am just happy with the overall performance. We now need to get ready for a tough game against the No. 1 team in the country, UBC, on Saturday. So, we'll regroup and be ready to go."
UP NEXT
TWU will now head home for their home opener on Saturday night when they will host the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds at 7:15 p.m. at Chase Office in Langley, B.C. The match can be seen live on Canada West TV.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Heat's Will Armitage opened the scoring in the 30th minute when he connected from the top of the box and found the top left corner of the Spartans' net. The opening 45 finished with UBC Okanagan up 1-0 and a 7-5 edge in total shots.
Van den Brink got the Spartans back even quickly to open the second half. Van den Brink took a pass in the box from third-year midfielder
Grant Verhoeven (Surrey, B.C.) and dribbled through the Heat defender in the box to find the far side of the UBC Okanagan net to tie the match at 1-1 in the 47th minute. TWU took the lead in the 71st minute when Van den Brink moved to open space in the centre of the Heat box before sending a hard shot into the top left corner of the UBC Okanagan net. Roxburgh put the Spartans up 3-1 four minutes later. The fifth-year got his first of the season when he deflected a shot from fifth-year midfielder
Jordan Low (Port Moody, B.C.) to put the Spartans up by two goals in the 76th minute. TWU dominated the second half, outshooting UBC Okanagan 6-1 in the final 45 minutes to earn the two-goal victory.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans finished the night with 11 total shots and eight shots on goal, while the Heat finished with eight total shots and four shots on target.
- TWU had three corner kicks, while UBC Okanagan had six corner kicks.
- TWU is now 7-1-2 against the Heat at Nonis Sports Field and 10-7-6 overall.
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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered 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, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS 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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