Finally, some reward.
The UNBC Northern Timberwolves women's soccer team secured its first point of the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association season when it drew 2-2 with the Langara College Falcons Sunday afternoon at Michelle Lamarche fields. The Timberwolves, who took a 0-9 record into the contest, were down 2-1 at halftime but got a tying goal from Heather King with about 15 minutes left to play.
"It was good for (the UNBC players) to see that if they really want it, they can compete with anybody," said T-wolves head coach Mato Mikic. "Langara, in my opinion, is technically one of the best teams in the league. They can sub anybody from the bench and you don't see a weakness in that direction so I'm pretty proud of the girls that they competed at that level all game long."
On King's goal, she got control of the ball about 30 yards away from the Langara net, turned a defender inside out, and fired a shot into the top corner.
"She's very strong on the ball and when she's got a little space to shoot she's got a very powerful shot and she can place it," Mikic said of King, a second-year forward from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Lindsey Brain scored in the first half for the Timberwolves.
The Vancouver-based Falcons saw their record drop to 4-2-1.
On Saturday, UNBC lost 1-0 to the Capilano University Blues of North Vancouver. That defeat didn't sit well with Mikic.
"I was a little bit disappointed because Capilano is a team that is, in my opinion, below us technically," he said. "They put in a little more effort than us to start with. After they scored their goal we kind of woke up and tried to play our game but we never got the rhythm going. We did have our chances but I think their goalie was the best player on the field for them."
The T-wolves will end their season with weekend road games against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack of Kamloops and the UBC Okanagan Heat of Kelowna. And they desperately want to get rid of the zero in their win column.
"We are going to try to build on our performance from Sunday," Mikic said. "I think that we can compete with both teams if we decide to play our game -- tight-checking when they have possession and keep possession when we have the ball at our feet. If we play that way, we can upset some people."
TRU currently has a 1-5-3 record and UBC-O sits at 7-0-2.
UNBC men set new standard of success
When the UNBC Northern Timberwolves beat the Langara College Falcons on Sunday, they achieved one of the goals they set out for themselves at the start of the year.
With a 3-1 decision at North Cariboo fields, the Timberwolves won for the fifth time this season, a new high for the men's soccer program. The team elevated its record to 5-4-1. Last season's T-wolves finished at 4-4-4.
In Sunday's game, UNBC scored three times in a dominating first half and was never in danger after that. The goals came from Tyson Williams, Rakan Ibrahim and Sean Glanville.
Langara saw its record slide to 2-4-1.
The Timberwolves also played on Saturday. In that one, they lost 4-2 to the Capilano University Blues (3-2-2). Scott DeBianchi and Glanville were the UNBC goalscorers.
"It was a split, but we're getting points each weekend and winning the games that we need to win," said UNBC assistant coach Brad Stewart.
Health-wise, the game against the Blues was costly for the T-wolves because they lost second-year forward Travis Hicks to a serious knee injury. Hicks appeared to plant a foot the wrong way and then fell. Chances are, he has a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Hicks will not play this coming weekend in season-ending games against Thompson Rivers University and UBC Okanagan and will probably miss playoffs as well.
"We're going to make it happen (without him)," Stewart said. "That's one thing I'm pleased about with this team -- we're resilient and we find ways to help each other out and pick up the slack. We're just going to carry on."
Playoffs start Oct. 29 in Surrey.
