Going strong for their second consecutive year as the defending Canada West (CW) champions, the UBC men’s soccer team has good odds of getting first place again at the mid-season.
With nine games in, there is one thing that describes how the team likes to play: they do not want to lose. Being halfway through the season, the Thunderbirds have yet to fail, with a 7–0–2 record.
“The goal is to be first place in the division and take the advantages that come with being first place,” said head coach Mike Mosher. “But we’ve got to take that each game at a time, each weekend at a time, to put ourselves in a good place when the league’s schedule finishes in a few weeks’ time.”
Currently, the Thunderbirds are placed first overall in CW, being just ahead of the University of Alberta, UVic and the University of Calgary. However, UBC has an advantage over these teams — they have played fewer games than most of their competition (9 compared to 10 or 11) so they can still pull away from the pack.
“In terms of the overall performance, we’ve been good, but I think there is still room to improve and get better, which is normal,” said Mosher.
The team has an amazing defence, with players such as Eric Lajeunesse, midfielder Markus Kaiser and goalkeeper Bennett McKay keeping UBC’s goals against average third in the conference (0.78). However, the Thunderbirds are their strongest when attacking, and several statistics confirm the extraordinary offence.
UBC is first in shots per game, having a great score of 18.7, while third place Calgary is five shots down. The Thunderbirds are third in the number of goals scored (20) and in average goals per game, the team ended the midseason in first place (2.22).
Nonetheless, it is important to consider that from these nine games, six of them were at home. Mosher said the remaining road games will be good bonding experiences.
“The friendships and tightness of the team can also grow with being together so much during that time as we get to the most important parts of the season — the last half of the season and playoffs are not that far away.”
Among the team’s strongest players is forward freshman Henri Godbout, who not only assisted in three goals but also scored five, making him the owner of 25 per cent of the goals of the team so far. Star players like Chris Lee, Luke Norman and Max Comsia are also essential, as they are responsible for assisting or scoring many of the teams’ other points.
Signs are pointing to the CW crown remaining with the Thunderbirds. With a great list of players and determination and ambition for victory, the team is each day closer to another title.
“We take nothing for granted, and we have to go and work hard and earn everything and prepare well for each and every opponent,” said Mosher.
Share this article
