A victory by the men’s squad over their local rivals from Trinity Western University highlighted the University of the Fraser Valley’s weekend soccer results.
The Cascades knocked off the Spartans 4-2 on Sunday afternoon at Bateman Park.
Justin Sekhon twice staked UFV to one-goal leads by converting penalty kicks, but both times TWU rallied to knot the score on goals by Jerome Lou and Kalem Scott. The Cascades would pull away down the stretch, though, thanks to strikes by James Najman in the 64th minute and Connor MacMillan in the 73rd. Defender Sahib Phagura picked up UFV player of the game honours.
Head coach Alan Errington said he was “very proud” of his team, which improved to 3-3-0, good for third in the Pacific Division of Canada West.
“They played 90 minutes and showed Canada West we will compete for a post-season berth this year,” Errington said.
The UFV men had dropped their first game of the weekend, falling 3-0 to the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver on Friday. The Cascades had upset the defending national champs earlier this season, but settled for a split of the season series.
The UFV women split a pair of games on the road, falling to the Canada West-leading Alberta Pandas 4-1 on Saturday and thumping the Mount Royal Cougars 3-0 on Sunday.
Danica Kump accounted for the Cascades’ lone goal vs. Alberta, while Carly Neeson, Jade Palm and Shelby Beck were the scorers vs. Mount Royal.
“Very proud of our response today, the girls put in a mature effort and were full value for the three points against a much improved Mount Royal side,” said UFV women’s coach Rob Giesbrecht, whose team is sixth in Canada West with a 2-2-1 record.