The University of the Fraser Valley men's soccer team earned a single point in Kamloops on Friday, exchanging second-half goals with the Thompson Rivers WolfPack in a 1-1 draw at Hillside Stadium.
In a carefully contested, defensive-minded clash, the Cascades were elated when, in the 75th minute,
Taylor Richardson scored to give them the lead.
Yet no sooner had the UFV supporters on site settled back into their seats, than the hosts came sprinting back down the pitch and got the equalizer in the 78th minute via Dylan Hooper.Â
The Cascades (1-3-3) and WolfPack (3-1-5) renew hostilities on Saturday at Hillside Stadium (5 p.m.,Â
CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
"It's a tough one," UFV head coach
Tom Lowndes said afterward, alluding to the timing of the goals, "but it's a hard place to play, and they're a good team.
"For us, I thought we were just OK with the ball. I don't think we did enough in possession – we were a bit sloppy, and we struggled to create our patterns of play. What we did do was, we battled hard. We showed we're a real team. We stuck together and we battled. I'm happy for them for that, and we'll look to take it into tomorrow and get another result."
Chances were few and far between in the first half, with the Cascades generating some pressure around the 30-minute mark, earning a pair of corners and looking dangerous but failing to capitalize.
The WolfPack had a few looks of their own – in the 74th, Hooper came swooping in from the left wing and unleashed a high shot that glanced off the crossbar.
Just over a minute later, Richardson broke the ice. Off
Mikael Mainella's long throw-in from the sideline,
Sahib Sidhu rose to flick the ball on, and Richardson shrugged off a TRU defender, pivoted, and fired a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner for his third goal of the season.
But shortly thereafter, Hooper made good on another sprint down the left. Cutting into the box from a sharp angle, his attempted cross banked off a Cascade defender and snuck inside the far post.
UFV goalkeeper
Jackson Cowx was credited with four saves on the night.
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