Abbotsford, BC –
Roland Mansell scored his first goal of the season in the 89
th minute, as the UFV Cascades defeated the MacEwan University Griffins 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Rotary Stadium.
The result stands as UFV goalkeeper
Kody Torrance's first Canada West victory, and moves the Cascades to 2-6 on the season, while MacEwan falls to 2-5 so far this season.
How it happened:
MacEwan struck early, as Philip Masri picked up a pass from Stewart Jamieson in the box and slotted it into the bottom corner just seven minutes in.
The Cascades battled to get back into it, and would find two quick goals before the half hour mark. First,
Kian Proctor drove toward the byline before his ball into the middle took a deflection and found the back of the net. Just five minutes later UFV took the lead, as a fantastic passing sequence in the middle of the park led to an
Adriano Consiglio through ball that found
Jeevan Dhaliwal, and the winger made no mistake burying his second goal in two games.
Carson Muter doubled the Cascades' advantage in the 40
th minute, after a loose ball popped up to his head off the foot of
Gurnaj Sidhu, and Muter powered his header over the head of the Griffins goalkeeper and into the net.
MacEwan answered in the 43
rd, when Egzon Jetishi's effort took a deflection that guided it past Torrance.
MacEwan was awarded a penalty kick in the 54
th minute, and Masri calmly slotted into the bottom left corner for his second of the game to tie it at three apiece.
It looked like the teams would share the points as time wound down, but in the 89
th minute
Michael Beecroft played a long ball forward that was flicked on by
Kian Proctor. Mansell barrelled forward and managed to get his head on it before the onrushing keeper could arrive and nodded home his first Canada West goal to make it 4-3.
Quotable:
UFV defender Carson Muter
"It feels good. The last few games have been tough for us – but I noticed today everyone collectively went out and played together."
"Last year we were 1-4-1 to start the season and went over to Saskatchewan and won 5-3. That really kicked our season around. We went undefeated for the next six or so and got into a playoff spot, so that's what we are looking to do this season."
Up Next:
The Cascades now turn to a pair of crucial contests on the road next weekend against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday and the UBC Okanagan Heat on Sunday. Both games have massive playoff implications with kickoff scheduled for 7pm and 12pm respectively. Meanwhile, the Griffins will face local rivals from the University of Alberta next Saturday.
