Henman kickstarts T-wolves to first win of the season

After seven attempts to nail down a winning formula, the UNBC Timberwolves finally got it right Saturday afternoon at Masich Place Stadium.

They scored early and often and walked off the field with a 4-1 victory over the UBC-Okanagan Heat – the first of the U SPORTS Canada West men’s soccer season for UNBC.

A day after being stymied by the smothering Heat defence and firing nothing but blanks in a 1-0 loss decided in injury time on Friday, the T-wolves scored three goals in the opening 26 minutes of the rematch to set the tone.

Michael Henman got them started four minutes in on his way to a three-point game, converting a pass from Alex Neilson for his first goal of the season. Henman has been one of the most dangerous T-wolves’ kickers throughout the season and he made the most of his opportunity, booting in a low shot past goalie Nicholas Reitsma.

 “It felt great,” Henman told UNBC sports information officer Rich Abney. “Finally. I have been getting so many chances and I have been a little hard on myself. I am happy to finally get one in the bag.” 

Henman, who had five shots on goal in the game, also drew an assist on the third UNBC goal, firing a shot at Reitsma that came back and smacked Henman in the face just as Anthony Preston was cruising into scoring range, and he tapped it into the open net for his first of the year.

In the second half, Henman sent a high pass into the box and Kelowna native Gregor Smith was able to head it into the net for his first career Canada West goal.

“It is nice to open the account, especially against my hometown team,” said Smith. “It means a little bit more. I saw the space, coming down the line. I know Mike can put a great ball in. I just saw it and got my head on it. I never thought I would score a header for my first Canada West goal, but it happened and I am stoked.” 

Prince George youth soccer product Owen Stewart collected the T-wolves’ second goal – his third of the season – in the 14^th minute, chipping in a rebound high into the cage after teammate Hussein Behery’s shot was blocked.

The win improved the T-wolves’ season record to 1-4-3, while UBC-O dropped to 1-2-3. Each team has six points, with the Heat having played two fewer games.                 

“Some people think of us as underdogs, but we don’t see ourselves as underdogs,” said Henman. “We aren’t surprised. We are happy about it, but we are not surprised with it.” 

The Heat generated more pressure on UNBC in the second half and finally got one past goalie Daniel Zadravec in the 57^th minute. Taylor Piche came close a couple times later in the game but just missed on a couple of cracks that sailed wide of the post.

The T-wolves have Thanksgiving weekend off and will return to action Oct. 15 in Abbotsford to face the Fraser Valley Cascades. 

“We need to keep going. We have to win,” said Smith. “We know we can play well. We have shown that throughout the year. It is time for results.” 

The UNBC women (0-6-1) are on the field tonight at 6 p.m. at Masich to take on UBC-Okanagan (0-5-2). The teams tied 1-1 on Friday.