Sunday proved a more difficult match-up for the ’Birds, as the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack capitalized on a consistent weakness in UBC’s defence: defending the counter-attack and through balls.
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UBC starting quarterback O’Connor — who averaged 324.8 passing yards per game last year — racked up an uncharacteristic 155 yards during the game. The ’Birds also had 23 penalties for a total loss of 210 yards.
A season opener usually means a new beginning and an opportunity to test out a new team — a mix of seasoned veterans and energetic rookies. But the team failed to hit the right pace early and lost the match.
This year, the ’Birds will be seeing the return of prominent players like Michael O’Connor and Marcus Davis. Joining them will be a squad of new recruits to bolster the existing talent on all areas of the field.
Photo coverage from the men's soccer home opener against University of the Fraser Valley on August 25, 2017. UBC won 1-0. The Jumpstart program brought incoming first-years to see the game as the Thunderbirds opened their season.
“It’s still early days and this group has got a lot of work [to do],” said head coach Mike Mosher. “We feel as we grow as a team, we will start to score more goals, so it’s nice to have fun that first weekend with a couple of clean sheets.”
We had no idea what we were in for, but we continued to train even more than before — I headed out on the water two, sometimes three, times a day. Our dragon boat practices began to have a state of urgency: there was no more dilly-dallying.
“What we want to be spearheading … is trying to set up a collegiate league for triathlon in western Canada or potentially here [on] the west coast, even including some of the US schools,” said Heinkel.
“There’s financial factors, but the primary reason is we want to grow and expand our product,” said Nill. “By going into a location [that is] not experienced with university football, it helps us showcase the product.”
Looking out on Lindeman Lake feels as though your eyes have been veiled by an Instagram filter. Similar to Joffre Lakes, the water is turquoise; be warned, though, as the water is glacial. My partner nearly went into shock from jumping in.
These researchers, however important their work is to the advancement of sport, don’t usually take credit for their role in an athlete’s success and prefer to avoid the limelight. James Brotherhood is one of these sports scientists.
Canada sent a total of 84 athletes to Budapest, Hungary, for the competition, and walked away with seven medals. They picked up two more bronze medals in relay events, due in large part to two T-Birds stars: Yuri Kisil and Markus Thormeyer.
“All these things [Passaglia] is doing behind this campaign to jumpstart it and getting people aware is the most important thing because the more lives you can save, the better,” said Katsantonis. “It’s helped me become more aware.”
The gym is a space where I can fight off that stress and feel good about myself. Even if I didn’t do anything else that day, if I went to the gym and grew a tiny bit stronger, I succeeded. Every time I hit a new personal best, I succeed.
Moving forward, there may be even more in store for Yee than just a professional career in the KHL. As a player of partial Chinese descent, he also has an opportunity to represent the Chinese National Team in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.