Kamloops, BC –
Harjoven Sidhu scored early, and
Riku Suga added the insurance marker, as the UFV Cascades picked up a road victory over the TRU WolfPack on Saturday in Kamloops.
It was a wild match from start to finish with three red cards being handed out, but at the end of the night UFV's record improved to 3-0-1 and TRU dropped to 1-3.
How it happened:
The Cascades got off to a dream start in the match. UFV's Sidhu stole the ball from TRU's Zach Hamedi in the 5
th minute and buried the breakaway chance to put UFV up 1-0.
Just moments later, UFV's
Mateo Brazinha broke in off the right side of the box, but a sliding save from TRU's goalkeeper Luca Ortu kept the scoreline level.
Not to be outdone, UFV's
Jackson Cowx made a sparkling save in the 19
th minute, parrying the ball out before
Carson Muter made a sliding block to clear the danger.
Cowx was called into action again in the 35
th minute, as Lachlan Will broke in alone for the WolfPack, but The Cascades' keeper once again came out on top with the save.
The Cascades' goal scorer found himself in trouble late in the opening half. After already picking up a caution for a challenge earlier on, Sidhu went to ground on a sliding tackle in the 40
th minute and was sent off for a second yellow.
After a fairly uneventful start to the second half, UFV's
Ebi Igali took advantage of a long ball in the 79
thminute, and after turning his defender, was brought down on a breakaway by TRU's Aren Christianson who was in turn shown the red card.
With each team fielding 10 players, the Cascades took advantage to seal the match in the 88
th minute. Brazinha charged into the box before finding
Riku Suga, who put away his first goal of the season to make it 2-0.
Moments later, TRU's Mikkel Rosenlund was called for a foul on UFV's
Michael Beecroft, and a short altercation ensued that resulted in Rosenlund being sent off.
Notable:
Both Sidhu and Suga notched their first goals of the season.
Jackson Cowx picked up his second shutout of the season, and seventh of his career to tie former Cascades keeper
David Hicks for third in program history.
Brazinha picked up his fourth assist of the season, and seventh point through four games to lead the conference in both categories. His four assists has him just two back of the program's single season Canada West record.
UFV's 3-0-1 record marks the best four game start to a Canada West season in program history.
Quotable:
UFV head coach Tom Lowndes
"Honestly, I think this is one of the best performances of my tenure. I thought we battled against adversity, and we could have caved, but we stood up and were counted. I hope this is a performance that can kickstart something special because I think this group has it in them. They are willing to fight for each other on the field, and they have a really tight bond so it's really pleasing to see."
"We have been perennial slow starters, so to come out of the blocks like this and have a really good first two weekends is huge. I think we can take a lot of confidence from it. Obviously, we have one of the toughest weekends of the season next week, but we have done well these first four games, so we are going to go there and give it everything and see what happens."
Next Up:
The Cascades continue their road swing next week as they take on the Victoria Vikes on Friday, before facing the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday. Game times are set for 7:15pm and 7:00pm respectively.
To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at @ufvcascades
Gallery: (8-31-2024) MSOC vs TRU Aug 31, 2024
