Zach Conard/UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER – On a rainy Saturday night in Vancouver, the UBC Thunderbirds (9-3-1) closed out their last home stand of the season at Thunderbird Stadium with a 1-0 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat (5-5-3), securing first place in Canada West's Pacific Division.
Zach Verhoven's 60th-minute screamer was enough to give UBC the win in a matchup between two of the stingiest defences in Canada West.
While the Thunderbirds generated a ton of pressure going forward, the Heat's defence impressively absorbed much of the T-Birds attack.
"It's what we live for, scoring is the best feeling," Verhoven said of his goal. "We have two games left now so we're going to keep on going and get some wins going into the playoffs."
In a game that didn't feature many clear cut chances, UBC's Kristian Yli-Hietanen climbed above the Heat defence in the 43rd to head in what seemed to be a goal, but was waved offside by the referee, an example of how close the game was.
The 53rd minute showcased UBCO's defensive finesse when keeper Mitch McCaw parried away a great chance by Thunderbirds' Patrick Izett. A goal line clearance and another McCaw save kept the game at a draw for the time being.
McCaw had an impressive night finishing with five saves on six shots faced.
"We're good defensively and we battled, but we need to get better going forward," said UBCO head coach Dante Zanatta. "We still kind of control our destiny in the fact that if we get some results we're ok."
The second half saw the introduction of Verhoven and with fresh legs, his 60th minute strike broke the deadlock.
Chad Bush went to work late in the 88th minute saving and knocking away last ditch chances from the Heat, keeping his clean sheet and protecting UBC's 1-0 lead.
"Every year the goal is to come first in the division and we think, set ourselves up to give ourselves the best chance to move forward to a national tournament," UBC head coach Mike Mosher said. "It's something we really want to take pride in."
The Thunderbirds had 15 corner kicks - while the Heat didn't have any - and a 12-1 advantage in shots.
UBC will be back in action next weekend when they visit Trinity Western Saturday, October 21. UBCO will host Thompson Rivers University at Nonis Field on Thursday, October 19.
PHOTO BY: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds