The UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team capped off its preseason with a 5-0 shutout of the visiting Western Washington Vikings (NCAA Div. II) on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium on Tuesday night. The T-Birds were buoyed by an energetic crowd of nearly 800 fans, made up of mostly UBC Jump Start students.

Reigning Canada West Rookie of the Year Sean Einarsson scored two first-half goals to lead UBC, which also got markers from Niall Cousens, Navid Mashinchi and newcomer Kyle Sohi.

Goalkeeper Ante Boskovic earned the clean sheet by making two saves.

Positioned at the top of the Western Washington 18-yard box, Einarsson knocked home a bouncing ball to opening the scoring in the 11th minute.

In the 23rd minute, UBC went up 2-0 when Cousens capitalized on a Vikings turnover, created by Mashinchi, to put a shot past WWU goalkeeper Keegan Rogers.

Einarsson bagged his second tally of the game in the 40th minute to give the T-Birds a 3-0 lead at the half. Mashinchi got on the scoresheet himself with a free kick goal from about 25 yards out in the 57th minute. Sohi rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 81st.

WWU was limited to four shots by the UBC defence, while the T-Bird offence directed 24 shots towards the Viking net.

UBC finishes 1-1 in the preseason after a 2-1 loss on Aug. 17 to Seattle University.

The Thundebrirds will continue preparations for their first two regular season games of 2014, which will take place on the road. The team will face Victoria on Sept. 5 in the provincial capital before travelling to Abbotsford for a Sept. 7 match-up against Fraser Valley.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wilson Wong/UBC Thunderbirds