Needing a win in the Okanagan to keep their playoff aspirations intact, the UNBC Timberwolves found a way to pull through.
Goals by Isaac Tate, Mehdi Bounaaja and Jamie Wildash-Chan paced the men’s soccer team to 3-0 victory on Sunday over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Sunday.
Prince George product Yanni Ntapas recorded his first Canada West clean sheet filling in for the injured Logan Pierce with 11 saves.
On Saturday, the Timberwolves fell 3-2 in a wild game to the previously win less Heat.
Wildash-Chan opened the scoring for UNBC before Okanagan tallied two straight courtesy of Malachi Emerson and Jaise Shaw.
Hagon Kim tied the game prior to halftime thanks to a Wyatt Lyon pass, his sixth assist of the season.
Shaw rippled his second onion bag of the game in the 63rd minute to upset the apple cart for UNBC.
Ntapas made six saves in defeat while Ronan Woodroofe picked up his first win in the Heat crase this season making four saves.
UNBC is 4-7-2 heading into a bye week, sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot in the Canada West Pacific Division.
Trinity Western has two games in hand on the Timberwolves, however, they fell twice on the weekend by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 to the UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes.
The Spartans take on the Fraser Valley Cascades this weekend.
In women’s action, UNBC dropped a pair of decisions to Trinity Western by scores 5-0 (Friday) and 4-0 on Sunday.
After a tough first half where the T-Wolves only found themselves down by one, the high-powered Spartans grabbed the game by the throat and took over in the final 45 minutes scoring four more times.
Rhianna MacDonald and Lianna Holz cashed in on back-to-back corner kicks that were nicely placed by Sophie Crowther.
Lucy Haige added to the lead with a well-placed shot in the 84th minute. Five minutes later, the Trinity Western was credited with a UNBC own goal to cap off the win.
Sunday was much of the same. UNBC fought hard in the first half to only be down 1-0 but the offensive prowess of the Spartans kicked into high gear in the second half.
Charis Wardrope kicked the ball into an empty net after another successful rush by Crowther which drew, three Timberwolves to her.
Haigh bent it like Beckham in the 63rd minute placing a well-placed shot over the head Timberwolves goalkeeper Johanna Rathke for a 3-0 lead.
Caitlin Cooper rippled the onion bag in the 72nd minute capping off a mad scramble inside the box.
Crowther, one of the elite players in the conference notched four assists for the 8-2-0 Spartans. UNBC falls to 0-11-1.
Rathke has now made 132 saves on the season and is nine away from breaking the single season save record established by Madison Priebe of the Winnipeg Westmen.
The T-Wolves finish on the road in Kelowna against UBC Okanagan (3-5-2) Saturday and Sunday.
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