Abbotsford, BC – It was a battle of the two best defensive teams in Canada West on Sunday, and neither was able to find a breakthrough as the UFV Cascades and UBC Thunderbirds played to a scoreless draw at Rotary Stadium.
The Thunderbirds came into the match having conceded a conference best six goals, while UFV ranked second with nine goals allowed on the season.
The result sees the Cascades move to 6-2-3 on the year, while UBC continues to lead the Canada West Pacific division at 11-0-1.
How it Happened:
UFV came inches away from scoring in the opening minute, as
Harjoven Sidhu drove up the left side and played his cross in behind the UBC backline. Unfortunately for the Cascades, it was just barely out of reach of
Mateo Brazinha and the Thunderbirds cleared the danger.
UBC had the best chance of the match in the eighth minute, as a cross from Henri Godbout eluded Cascades goalkeeper
Matheus De Souza and found Luke Norman in the box all alone. With no keeper to beat it looked like a sure goal, but a diving block from
Ebi Igali on the goal line kept the ball out.
The Cascades pushed right back moments later, as
Mateo Brazinha stormed into the UBC box, but his shot was blocked away by a sliding Markus Kaiser.
UFV put the pressure on again in the 28
th minute, as a Harjoven Sighu cross was just out of reach of a pair of Cascades, but deflected off a UBC defender and went over the bar.
Norman had another chance to open the scoring in the 30
th minute, as Godbout sent a through ball into the Cascades' box, but this time it was De Souza with a strong hand to parry his shot over the bar.
Both teams found half chances in the second half, with UBC controlling most of the possession, but it was UFV that came closest to finding a winner. Brazinha led a UFV counterattack in the 93
rd, and after driving into the box he cut the ball back to Sidhu at the top of the box. Sidhu fired a shot, but it was unable to get past the block of a UBC defender.
Notable:
Rookie goalkeeper
Matheus De Souza picked up his fifth clean sheet of the season in the UFV goal, tying the program's single-season shutout mark held by
Jackson Cowx and Alex Skrzeta.
Quotable:
Cascades head coach
Tom Lowndes
"It was a really good game. A really good battle. Two teams that were willing to fight, and do whatever it takes, and I was pleased with our performance. I thought we got back to being who we are defensively after a little blip on Friday where we weren't our best, so to be able to do that against number one in the country is obviously a really positive thing."
"We talk about it all the time that moments change games, so [Igali and De Souza] stepping up to stop them from scoring is huge. If they get one early then we're up against it, and on the other side if we get one does it change things? I think a draw was probably a fair result when you look at the balance of the game."
"Really pleased with the team effort tonight. UBC is number one in the country for a reason, and to put that kind of little blemish on their record is positive for us, but now we need to take that and go into a battle with our rivals next week. We can solidify ourselves in the table a little bit and try to pick up as many points as we can to hopefully finish on a good note going into playoffs."
Next Up:
The Cascades now get set for a home and home match up with the Trinity Western Spartans next Friday and Saturday, while UBC will face the Victoria Vikes on Thursday and Saturday.
To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades
