Larry Read/TRU Media
EDMONTON — The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s soccer team just keeps on rolling.
The WolfPack won their sixth match in seven starts as they upset the University of Alberta Golden Bears 3-1 in the Canada West play-in game Saturday.
The WolfPack led 2-0 after the first half. Thompson Rivers got goals from Mitchell Popadynetz (5th year, midfield, Nelson), Joshua Banton (2nd year, defender, Leigh-on-sea, England) and Justin Donaldson (4th year, midfield, Kamloops). Jackson Gardner (1st year, keeper, Chilliwack) stopped one of two shots on goal for the victory.
The only Bear to beat him was Ajeej Sarkaria (3rd year, forward, Edmonton).
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The WolfPack will face the Trinity Western Spartans of Langley in Final Four action Friday (4 p.m.) at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver. The host T-Birds take on the Fraser Valley Cascades of Abbotsford in the other semifinal. The gold-medal match goes Saturday afternoon.
The Bears saw their 500-plus minutes of scoreless soccer come to an end Saturday. After losing 1-0 to Alberta in the regular season, the Pack have beaten the Bears twice in their last three meetings.
Vernon’s Finlay McPhie is in his senior year as a starting defender, while Scott Kramer of Vernon is a second-year midfielder with the WolfPack.
The Pack iced Alberta last year to win the Canada West bronze medal.
Popadynetz has three goals and five assists in his last four matches. Alberta entered the match as the number one ranked team from the Prairie Division (12-0-2) and were sixth-ranked in the most recent U SPORTS top 10 ratings.
It was the first time all season Alberta conceded more than two goals.
“I’m very happy for the boys,” said TRU head coach John Antulov. “Overall, it was a fantastic effort. The guys played great from beginning to end defensively. We were very sound. The back line was absolutely fantastic. We were able to convert the chances that we got. They knew it was going to be a tough battle. They rose to the occasion. Can’t say enough about Mitch (Popadynetz) and Fin (Finlay McPhie), Jason (Staiger) and Thomas Lantmeeters. All the guys who have stepped it up over the last few weeks and are starting to reap the rewards of how they are playing.”
Trinity downed Calgary Dinos in penalty kicks in their play-in game. The teams were tied at 1 after regulation time and The Spartans beat the Dinos 4-3 in penalty kicks. UBC took care of Mount Royal Cougars of Calgary 3-0 in their quarter-final, while Fraser Valley needed penalty kicks to dispose of Saskatchewan. They were tied at 1-1 after regulation and overtime. The Cascades scored three penalty kicks to the Huskies’ one.
