On Friday night at Masich Place Stadium in Prince George, the UNBC Timberwolves men's soccer team put together a solid defensive battle on home turf, pushing the Victoria Vikes to the limit before suffering a tough 1-0 defeat.Goalkeeper Callum Cuthbert was a brick wall between the posts, turning in an outstanding multi-save showcase to capture Mr. Mikes Player of the Game honors.
The Timberwolves controlled possession early off the opening kickoff before Victoria ramped up the attacking pressure.After early Vikes attempts from Jack Napier-Ganley and Kohen Mennie sailed off target, Cuthbert went to work. In the 28th minute, he made a sharp left-footed kick save on Felipe Morales Mona to keep the match deadlocked.
UNBC found their attacking groove midway through the half. In the 25th minute, Simon Odenthal had a dangerous drive blocked, earning the Timberwolves a corner kick. Mehdi Bounaaja whipped in a great delivery that found Luke Graham, whose header on target was turned aside by the Vikes keeper. Trevor Scott immediately jumped on the loose ball, but his follow-up was blocked by a swarming Victoria backline. At the other end, Hagon Kim stepped up to make a heroic block on Morales Mona in the 37th minute, followed immediately by Cuthbert denying Napier-Ganley. Cuthbert added another stop right before the break, turning away Connor Legge in the 45th minute to ensure a scoreless draw at halftime.
UNBC came out of the break with high tempo and energy. Bounaaja led the charge up the pitch to set the pace, while Luis Beck displayed nifty defensive footwork to win key 50-50 balls. In the 57th minute, Kosta Adzic made a brilliant strip on the Victoria attack, driving the ball up the left flank to spark transition for the Timberwolves.
The match saw a wild sequence in the 67th minute when Bounaaja struck a venomous free kick that nearly found the back of the net before being tipped away by the Victoria keeper; the rebound pinballed out, leading to a stinging drive from Kim that missed just wide to the right.
In the 75th minute, the UNBC defense delivered the play of the night. After Napier-Ganley got a shot past an onrushing Cuthbert, Adzic scrambled back to clear the ball off the goal line. The deflection fell right to Tristan Cornwell, but Cuthbert recovered instantly and laid out with a diving save to keep Victoria off the board.
Victoria finally broke the scoreless deadlock in the 81st minute when Wesley Jones finished a feed from Napier-Ganley to put the Vikes ahead 1-0.
The Timberwolves refused to go quietly. Pipeijn van der Ende and Graham anchored the defense to break up Vikes counter-attacks, while UNBC pushed heavily into the attacking third through five tense minutes of stoppage time.However, Victoria's defensive shell held on until the final whistle.
The Timberwolves now look ahead to their 2026 Canada West regular-season finale on Sunday, October 25, when they host the UBCO Heat at Masich Place Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 PM.
