You win some, you lose some, and in soccer, you tie some.
On Sunday afternoon, the UBC Thunderbirds earned a 3–3 draw against the UNBC Timberwolves at Masich Place Stadium in Prince George. All three of the T-Birds' goals were scored by Markus Rukavina, who mustered the second natural hat trick by a UBC player this season.
Swooping into the match, the T-Birds were flaunting a 5-0-0 record. The 'Birds' recent 3–2 road win over the UFV Cascades was the nearest they had come to dropping points, had it not been for a cheat code sequence by Luke Norman in squeaky bum time.
Conversely, the UNBC Timberwolves were 0-1-2, following their latest result — the second of two consecutive home stints against Lower Mainland-based teams — a 2–2 comeback draw versus the middling Trinity Western University Spartans.
UBC started the match in familiar fashion, assigning the ball most of the heavy lifting, moving it width-wise with patience and precision.
The T-Birds' first good look of the match came in under three minutes, when a low-driven shot from range by Rukavina was saved by UNBC's debutant goalkeeper Owen Shum. The latter made his first appearance in a Canada West men's soccer match on Sunday, stopping seven of UBC's ten shots on goal.
UBC found their groove in due time though, helped along early by menace Henri Godbout. Although Godbout's name is not on the box score, his performance was impressive. During the first half, Godbout repeatedly sank into the build up. He facilitated the rotation of passing options and created room for midfielders Oliver Herbert and Brennen Fuerst to slip in and out of. Godbout was equally impactful with the ball at his feet, taking on Timberwolves defenders and delivering deft crosses.
Thanks to Godbout and the rest of the flock, the T-Birds appeared to have swiftly set the cadence of the match.
The Timberwolves tried to stand their ground, congesting the penalty area to make it difficult for UBC to break lines. But the 'Birds' sheer attacking prowess, combined with their ability to defend and intercept exit passes, made it look like only a matter of time before they would decidedly take to the skies.
But then, in the 26th minute, a negative pass into the middle third saw Fuerst dispossessed, sending first year Timberwolf Simon Odenthal through on goal with only the keeper to beat. UBC's keeper Hayden Franks timed his charge off the line, but Odenthal drew the longer straw, brushing the ball past Franks to slot it home, putting his team up 1–0.
Completely against the run of play, UBC — currently the most goal-getting team in Canada West by a margin of seven — conceded the opening goal of the match for the first time this season. And before the pair they gave up against UFV, the 'Birds were yet to concede at all.
Then, before the 'Birds had time to sharpen their talons, the Timberwolves bit again. Four minutes after bounding ahead, UNBC added a second tally.
From no less than 30 yards out, Trevor Scott launched a looping cross toward the goal area that eluded the outnumbering T-Birds. Scott's dime was met by a lurking Kaiden Young, who headed the ball past a diving Franks for his second goal in as many matches.
Within half an hour, UBC were met with the heftiest deficit they had faced all season. But when the play resumed, the T-Birds started to climb, and at the 35th minute, Rukavina notched the first of his haul. Upon receiving the ball from Comsia in the penalty arc, he took a touch out of his feet and slashed the ball between three converging Timberwolves. Rukavina put his shot perfectly into the side-netting, giving Shum zero chance of completing the save.
Rukavina's blast brought the 'Birds within proper striking distance, and it did not take long for him to double down. Godbout, operating from the left flank this time, dispatched a threatening cross into the penalty area. With eyes in the back of his head, Norman leaped over the ball at the near post. His feint left acres of open space for an unmarked Rukavina, who found himself square to the goal with the ball at his feet, albeit surrounded by Timberwolves.
Rukavina's initial shot was blocked, so he elected to try something different. Using his chest to settle the rebound, Rukavina let out a chain of graceful touches, evading each challenger before lunging to nudge the ball past Shum.
2–2 UBC.
It took as long for UBC to acclimatize to the match as it did for them to return the match to level terms. By utilizing the entire pitch — mixing in crosses from both flanks with direct-to-feet service — the T-Birds cracked the code to UNBC's crowded coup.
Right before the break, Comsia had the 'Birds best chance to break the deadlock. Team captain Eric Lajeunesse zipped a pass along the turf to Comsia, who used his size and strength to hold up the ball. With his back to the goal, Comsia pushed the ball out of his feet, allowing him to turn and test Shum from beyond the penalty area, where the goalkeeper just got a hand on it. On the ensuing corner kick, the ball was poked off the line by Timberwolves defender Adam Korduner and subsequently sent into orbit, prompting the referee to blow for halftime.
UBC returned from the hiatus with sustained momentum. In less than two minutes, another well-worked crossing effort from the right flank was redirected by a Timberwolf to Rukavina, who calmly passed the ball into the bottom-right corner.
Three unanswered goals in under 13 minutes.
UNBC occasionally won possession from UBC, but savouring it was a different ball game. Again, the 'Birds requested the ball to do the work, prompting the Timberwolves to chase after it, akin to a dog at the park.
In the 57th minute, Godbout had another quality chance to notch a point. A tidy set pass by Rukavina triggered a thwack by Godbout from a favourable angle, but Shum was up to scratch, pushing the ball astray.
Following a burst down the right flank, Timberwolf Korduner beat Nicolas Nadeau on the inside track. Korduner's move took him inside the penalty area, where he was confronted afresh by Nadeau. Korduner tried to skirt his marker, but was clipped by the outstretched leg of Nadeau, sending him to the ground.
Fourth year Hagon Kim stepped up to take the penalty. Kim stuttered, planted, and side-footed the ball into the bottom right corner, sending Franks the opposite way.
For the second time in the match, UNBC bested UBC against the run of play. Still, with more than twenty minutes before the full-time whistle, the ball was in the 'Birds' court.
Correspondingly, UBC started committing additional bodies up the pitch. The T-Birds supplemented their advance with four substitutions, notably bringing in midfield catalyst Yu-Hsuan Yuan, who, before the match against UNBC, had started every match.
Entrenching themselves, UNBC abandoned ever trying to build out from their defensive third, resorting to the more conservative strategy of "when in doubt, ride it out." As the match drew to a close, the Timberwolves did their utmost to stifle UBC's tries to bag a fourth goal, plunking all eleven bodies behind the ball and pouncing on rare windows to counter.
The 'Birds gave it what they had. In the 85th minute, a goal-bound strike by Rukavina from near the penalty arc was deflected out for a corner kick. Five minutes later, an inswinging cross by Lajeunesse fell to substitute Joshua Tomé, whose swipe at the ball took a deflection off another 'Bird and into the hands of a diving Shum.
The final glimpse of glory for either team went the way of UNBC. In added time, Timberwolves midfielder Ryder Rusman galloped down the right flank in search of a target, but his feed across the goalmouth did not find the lone runner Kosta Adzic.
Following a brief spell of what more closely resembled table tennis than soccer, the match was officially over.
In spite of the fair terms after ninety minutes, this 3–3 draw will be filed in vastly disparate ways by each team.
UBC took 18 shots and 10 corner kicks during the match. UNBC took three shots and one corner kick, which they delivered in the first five minutes. In terms of opportunities to produce, the 'Birds offered their regularly scheduled programming but the Timberwolves rolled with the punches.
Nonetheless, the odds are that, come mid-October, the 'Birds' excursion north will be remembered as a shallow pothole en route to paradise.
On the flip side, a third consecutive draw for the Timberwolves — against an opponent they have only ever beaten twice through 14 years of conference play — is undoubtedly their loudest result through four matches.
The T-Birds will get another go at UNBC when the Timberwolves visit Point Grey in just over a month's time, in what will be UBC's final match of the regular season.
In lieu of dropping points for the first time this season, the T-Birds remain comfortably above the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, who have a 4-2-0 record in the Canada West standings. Forecasting what comes next, the 'Birds will try to return to the win column against the winless UBCO Heat next Friday at Ken Woods Field.
In the video attached to this article, the reporter stated that the TRU WolfPack's record was 4–0–2. They are 4–2–0. The Ubyssey regrets this error.
