The University of the Fraser Valley men's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision on the road to the Seattle Pacific University Falcons on Saturday afternoon in their final preseason tune-up.
The Cascades, coming off a 2-2 tie with the Simon Fraser University Clan on Thursday, spotted the host Falcons two early goals and were unable to mount a comeback.
Head coach Tom Lowndes's side wrapped up its exhibition schedule with a 2-2-2 record. They open the Canada West regular season next weekend with a pair of games – Friday vs. the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, and Saturday vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat. Both games kick off at 8 p.m. at MRC Sports Complex, Field 4.
"Preseason is about creating an identity for how you want to play, and I think we've done that," Lowndes said. "The result didn't go our way today, but we'll be good to go on Friday."
The Falcons are two-time defending Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) champions, and they're No. 2 in the NCAA Div. II conference's preseason coaches' poll this year.
Against a quality opponent, the Cascades did themselves no favours by conceding a goal off a set piece five minutes in, and allowing another shortly thereafter. Lowndes felt that on all three Seattle Pacific goals, his team made correctable errors.
"When you're facing a very good team, it's an uphill battle when you're down 2-0 after 15 minutes," he said, noting that the play rookie forward Nate Trampleasure was a bright spot for the Cascades. "We showed more fight in the second half, which was good to see, but I think Thursday night took a lot out of us and we weren't at our best today."
Recording goals for the Cascades on Thursday was Justin Sekhon and Gurmaan Jhaj.
For more on the team, visit ufvcascades.ca.