Prince George, BC –
Michael Beecroft opened the scoring, before a pair of
Mateo Brazinha tallies put the game away as the UFV Cascades (5-1-2) took down the UNBC Timberwolves (3-5-2) by a score of 3-1 on Friday.
Brazinha's two goals sees the UFV captain push his career Canada West goal total to 23, leapfrogging Cascades alum Gurmaan Jhaj for sole possession of the program's goal record. The reigning Canada West Player of the Year is now the program record holder in career goals (23), assists (12), and points (35).
How it Happened:
The Cascades looked disciplined in defence early, smothering the UNBC attack, before finding their moment in the 20
th minute. First-year defender
Mondo Abay played a cross into the near post to Beecroft who glanced his header in to open the scoring.
UFV doubled their lead 10 minutes later, as a good ball from
Adam Szymanski found the head of Brazinha, and he looped a shot over the outrushing keeper in into the open goal.
A second half handball call in the box gave the Timberwolves some life, as UNBC's Mark Talisuna converted the following spot kick to cut the deficit in half.
The Cascades would slam the door shut on any comeback attempt in the 71
st, as their counterattack once again proved deadly.
Adriano Consiglio forced a turnover before sending Brazinha and
Kevin Mailand on the attack. After some nice passing between the two, Mailand found Brazinha who made no mistake burying it into the bottom left corner.
Notable:
Abay's first half assist marks the first of his Canada West career in his first conference start.
Beecroft's goal puts his season total to five, good for fourth in the conference.
Brazinha now has nine goals from seven games played this season, putting him in a tie for the conference lead with Calgary's Owen Antiniuk despite having played two fewer games.
Quotable:
Cascades head coach
Tom Lowndes
"I thought we did a really good job of figuring things out early and making sure that we were solid defensively. They're a good team, they're very well organized, and in possession, they do a lot of things that we haven't seen a lot of this year. We limited their opportunities and then the biggest thing I can say about this team is that we are clinical. We get chances and we take them. It's definitely the most clinical team that I've ever coached at UFV."
"We got a great ball in from Mondo [Abay], who I thought was fantastic in his first start. For a rookie to come in and start like that and get an assist is excellent."
"When you have a striker that is that talismanic, it just gives the team a huge boost. We know if [Brazinha]'s in the box he's going to cause problems and get goals. So proud of him and so pleased for him because he deserves it. For me he's easily one of the best players to ever play for this program. Obviously, he's not done, and he has goals he wants to achieve. After last season he put his head down and wanted to get back to work to try to better it. And when you can win player of the year and want to be better than that I think it shows a tremendous work rate, desire, and just overall attitude."
Next Up:
The Cascades continue their weekend with a rematch against the UNBC Timberwolves on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 12pm, and can be streamed live on Canada West TV.
To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades
