O’Neill led the Cascades to an upset win over previously undefeated #1 UBC.
Submitted. University of Fraser Valley’s Colton O’Neill and Trinity Western University’s Jessica King were named Canada West 1st Stars of the Week for turning in noteworthy performances on the pitch as the 2014 conference soccer season reaches the homestretch with teams jockeying for playoff position.
Pictured at right: Colton O’Neill. Photo credit UFV Cascades
O’Neill registered two goals in the Cascades’ win over #1 UBC and draw with #6 Victoria over the weekend. UFV (5-4-1, 16 points) is currently third in the Pacific Division, behind the Thunderbirds (9-1-0, 27 points) and Vikes (6-1-3, 21 points).
Meanwhile, King continued her marvelous season with two goals in the two wins versus #4 Victoria and UBC. She was also honoured with the 3rd Star (week of September 8) and 2nd Star (week of September 15) earlier in the season.
Hockey players Deven Dubyk (Manitoba) and Nick Buonassisi (UBC) were named Men’s 2nd and 3rd Star of the Week, respectively.
In women’s sports, Calgary Dinos volleyball right side Janna Ogle (2nd Star) and Manitoba Bisons soccer midfielder Megan Graca (3rd Star) were also honoured.
MEN.
1st Star: #2, Colton O’Neill, UFV (Soccer)
Colton O’Neill was the catalyst as the University of the Fraser Valley men’s soccer team picked up four of a possible six points on the weekend against a pair of nationally ranked opponents.
On Friday, the fourth-year right back from Abbotsford, B.C. opened the scoring on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, sparking the Cascades to a 2-1 victory over the previously undefeated, No. 1-ranked, two-time defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds.
On Saturday, O’Neill notched his team-leading fifth goal of the campaign in the 79th minute to lift UFV to a 1-1 draw with the UVic Vikes, the nation’s No. 6-ranked side.
“What’s special about Colton is, he does the same thing every game,” Cascades head coach Alan Errington said. “He’s Mr. Consistent – he never lets you down. He’s top class, such a good player. In all honesty, he shouldn’t be playing for us – he should be making a living at the game.”
2nd Star: #34 Deven Dubyk, Manitoba (Hockey)
In men’s hockey, the Manitoba Bisons went into Saskatoon and swept the #3 Saskatchewan Huskies during the October 10-12 weekend.
Manitoba had a balanced scoring attack both nights but the one constant was the solid play by starting goaltender Deven Dubyk as he backstopped the Herd with two wins and stopped 56 of 59 shots in six periods of play.
On Friday, October 10, Dubyk kept the team in the game right from the beginning as in the first period, the hosts outshot Manitoba 12-5 but it was only a 1-1 game. The Bisons responded in the next two periods and won 4-1 while the third year netminder stopped 28 of 29 shots for the road victory.
The next night, Manitoba led for the majority of the game yet Dubyk kept the Huskies at bay when they closed the game to 3-2 midway through the third period. The Minitonas, MB native recorded another 28-save performance in a 5-2 road win and secure the crucial road weekend sweep early in the 2014-15 Canada West conference regular season.
With the victories, Manitoba has a 4-2-0 record after four consecutive conference wins and now tied for third place in the Canada West standings.
Dubyk has started in five of six conference games and tied for first in Canada West with four goaltender wins, first in minutes played at 300, plus seventh in Goals Against Average (2.00) and Save Percentage (.925).
The Bisons (4-2-0) return home as they host the #5 Mount Royal Cougars (5-1-0) on October 17-18 weekend with puck drop on Friday at 7 p.m. CT and Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
3rd Star: #12 Nick Buonassisi, UBC (Hockey)
Second-year forward Nick Buonassisi scored three times on the weekend to help his UBC Thunderbirds earn three of a possible four points at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre against the Mount Royal University Cougars, the fifth-ranked men’s hockey team in the CIS.
The Arts student from Port Coquitlam, B.C., opened the scoring in Friday’s game, which ended 5-3 in favour of UBC. It was the first loss of the regular seaon for MRU.
Buonassisi added more heroics on Saturday afternoon, scoring both of UBC’s goals in a 3-2 overtime loss. With his team down 2-0 in the second period, Buonassisi scored a shorthanded marker at 14:20 of the middle frame to get the T-Birds back into the game. He found the net again at 2:01 of the third to tie the score at 2-all. That goal allowed UBC to take the game into overtime and earn its third point of the weekend against MRU.
The Thunderbirds (2-2-2) remain at home this weekend and will host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns.
WOMEN.
1st Star: #11 Jessica King, Trinity Western (Soccer)
Senior midfielder Jessica King was back in form this weekend as she scored two game-winning goals to give the Trinity Western Spartans a 1-0 win over No. 4 Victoria on Friday and a 3-0 win over UBC on Saturday. The two game-winners give the Psychology major 10 goals on the season, including six game-winners.
The fifth year student from Liverpool, England scored the only goal in the 68th minute of TWU’s 1-0 win over Victoria on Friday night. King followed it up on Saturday night with the opening goal in the 28th minute as TWU prevailed 3-0 over the UBC Thunderbirds. King’ 10 goals on the season tie her for top spot in the Canada West conference and fourth in the CIS, while her six game-winners are the most in the CIS, tied with Amanda Boyle of Western who has six game-winners in 14 games, compared to King’s 10 games. King has been a consistent threat all season having scored in seven of the Spartans’ 10 games.
The two wins keep the No. 1 Spartans undefeated at 9-0-1 and in top spot in the Pacific Division. TWU’s 28 points are also the best in the Canada West conference.
The Spartans will now finish off Canada West conference play with a home match against the University of the Fraser Valley on Friday night at 5 p.m. at TWU’s Rogers Field, followed by a 12 p.m. match in Vancouver against the UBC Thunderbirds.
2nd Star: #11 Janna Ogle, Calgary (Volleyball)
Right side Janna Ogle had a great start to the year in the opening games of the 2014-15 women’s volleyball season over the weekend.
The Open Studies student began her second year on Thursday when the Dinos shocked the Manitoba Bisons with a five-set win. In the marathon match, Ogle accumulated a team-high 18 kills. She also had 12 digs. The following night, the Dinos completed the sweep with another five-setter. Ogle’s 17 digs was a team-high and she added 13 kills totalling 31 over the weekend.
The Dinos will head back out on the road to face the Brandon Bobcats, October 24-25, before returning to host the Alberta Pandas.
3rd Star: #21 Megan Graca, Manitoba (Soccer)
In the tight race for a Canada West playoff spot in the Prairie Division in women’s soccer, the Manitoba Bisons needed to complete their home portion of their schedule with points to have any chance of staying in the post-season hunt in 2014.
Manitoba accomplished the goal with a hard-fought tie and stunning win during the October 10-12 weekend against the division leading Calgary Dinos and were propelled by fourth year midfielder Megan Graca as she scored a game-winner and assisted on a tying goal in the two matches.
In the first match on Friday, October 10, Graca started and played the full 90 minutes and was a force on both sides of the ball. She set up the game-tying goal with a nice pass to Bruna Mavignier in the 1-1 draw.
The following day, in a back-and-forth affair, Graca was the difference-maker as she boomed a free kick that curled past the Calgary goalkeeper for the game-winning goal in a 3-2 victory. The Thunder Bay, ON native had two shots while starting and playing all 90 minutes in the winning match.
With the four points gained over the weekend, Manitoba still has an opportunity to grab the last playoff spot (fourth in the division) as they are four points back of Saskatchewan.
Graca has scored one goal and two assists with four shots on goal while playing nine of the 10 conference games so far this year.
The Bisons (4-4-2) finish the conference regular season on the road as they play at the Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-7-2) on Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19. Both matches start at 1 p.m. CT.
About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is the premier athletic conference in the country and is home to champion student-athletes that excel on the field, in the classroom and in their communities. As the winningest conference in the CIS with over 100 national championships in the past decade, Canada West and its 17 member institutions commit to a student-athlete experience where competitive excellence, scholarship and sportsmanship equally contribute into molding our future professional athletes and leaders. Find out more by logging on CanadaWest.org and following @CWUAA on Twitter.
Contact: Pic Ocampo