Metro Vancouver…..The KPU Eagles men’s soccer team defeated the Capilano University Blues 1-0 today at Newton Athletic Park in Surrey, BC today. The Eagles and the Blues met three times in the 2014-2015 PACWEST CCAA regular season. The win today and the September 3rd home opener victory 3-0 put the series in favour of KPU. The only win for the Blues against the Eagles was yesterday in North Vancouver with a score of 5-0. KPU’s season record is now 4-4-3 with four regular season matches left on the schedule.
Fresh off yesterday’s loss to the Blues, the Eagles came out with a renewed sense of focus and confidence in the first half. The midfielders and forwards controlled the ball and created multiple scoring opportunities. In the 28th minute, KPU third-year midfielder Kristofer Racanelli, White Rock, BC fired the ball past the Capilano goalkeeper for the only goal of the match. First-year Eagles goalkeeper David Hicks, Surrey, BC earned his second shut-out in his sixth game in net for KPU.
The second half was all about the defenders as Eagles’ Jacob Starheim, Delta, BC, Matthew Visser, Port Coquitlam, BC, and Nawaf Binsaleh, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia along with Hicks worked hard to limit offensive momentum by the Blues.
Elsewhere in the PACWEST the VIU Mariners defeated the Quest University Kermodes 2-1 and the Douglas College Royals won 3-2 over the Langara College Falcons. The Eagles will remain in third place in the league going into next weekend’s matches with the Royals and Falcons. They must continue to fight for every point to ensure a spot in the PACWEST provincials October 24-26th at Quest University, Squamish, BC.
“We were short on players this weekend, but the guys stuck to the game plan and we limited Capilano’s scoring chances today,” said KPU Eagles’ head coach Srdjan Djekanovic, “It was a terrific team performance, they left everything out on the field.”
The Eagles are on the road Thanksgiving weekend at the Royals on Saturday, October 11th at Cunnings Field in Coquitlam, BC with a 2:00pm kick-off. Then KPU is off to UBC’s Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, BC on Sunday, October 12th for a 3:00pm match with the Falcons. For full venue details, please visit the KPU Eagles website at www.kpu.ca/eagles and click on each day’s event.
For more information on the Department of Athletics & Recreation, please contact Junelle Mah, sports information and marketing, at 604-786-0804 or at junelle.mah@kpu.ca.
The KPU Eagles Department of Athletics & Recreation enters its 14th season of interuniversity competition. The Eagles are members of the PACWEST conference and play in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) with 100 student-athletes participating on eight varsity teams in men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, badminton and golf. KPU athletics plays its home games at the Eagles’ Nest (Surrey Campus), Northview Golf & Country Club, Newton Athletic Park, all located in Surrey, BC and the Ace Badminton Centre in Richmond, BC. The Eagles are active in the conference with staff members on various advisory committees and competing to host both provincial and national championships. The student-athletes are mainly from the lower mainland but KPU’s rosters have included student-athletes from North America, South America, Asia and Europe.
Follow the Eagles on Twitter @KPU Eagles, on Facebook www.facebook.com/KPUEagles, or on our website www.kpu.ca/eagles.