The UBC Okanagan Heat fought back to earn a split with the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack in PACWEST men’s soccer action last weekend.
After losing the first of a home-and-home set 4-2 to TRU on Saturday in Kamloops, UBCO rebounded with a 3-2 victory Sunday at Nonis Field.
Lucas Krivak connected on a breakaway at 83 minutes to push the Heat to victory Sunday.
Jordan Lieb and Donald Straith also scored for the Heat, now 5-3-2 on the season and still in solid contention for the fourth and final playoff spot in PACWEST.
After a disappointing loss in Kamloops, coach Dante Zanatta was pleased with how his team responded against the No. 2 ranked team in the CCAA. “For them to have a bit of a disappointment yesterday, and come back today and gut it out,” said Zanatta,”as much as I always like to see pretty football—they still tried to play and do those things—we said early in the game that today was about doing the little things and being committed to it.”
The Heat are at home this weekend, hosting Kwantlen on Saturday and Douglas Sunday.
Heat women
The UBCO women managed a single point against Thompson Rivers as last year’s PACWEST finalists got reacquainted in a two-game set.
On Saturday in Kamloops, the defending champion Wolfpack scored four second-half markers en route to a 5-2 win. Michelle Smith and Haylee Lakovic each scored their fourth goals of the season in the loss.
On Sunday in Kelowna, the Heat (5-3-2) bounced back to earn a 1-1 draw with TRU (8-0-2).
Down 1-0 in the 89th minute, Kirsten Dodds knocked home the rebound of a Jennifer Kidd penalty kick to salvage the point. The Heat then nearly stole the game with 30 seconds left, but Hayley Carlson’s shot rang off the crossbar and stayed out.
“We created lots of chances,” said Heat coach Claire Paterson. “We finally got lucky with the rebound off the penalty shot, so something finally went our way.”
The Heat are at home this weekend, hosting Kwantlen on Saturday and Douglas Sunday at Nonis Field.
