KAMLOOPS – A goal off the head of James Fraser in the 90th minute of play gave the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Sept. 18.
 
The last-second goal was the second in a row for the 'Pack, after a 90th minute equalizer last weekend allowed them to snag a tie with the UBC Thunderbirds.
 
"It's pretty exciting for the fans, but definitely for the coaching staff it puts a couple extra years on our life for sure," said WolfPack head coach John Antulov on the dramatic finish to the game.
 
A back-and-forth affair throughout the night, the WolfPack took the lead in the first half thanks to Mikkel Rosenlund's second goal of the year. The Heat equalized early in the second half and the game appeared to be heading for a tie before the response from Fraser.
 
"Overall I thought we played well, a good solid game and we were strong defensively. Building out of the back we did some really good things," said Antulov. "We weren't creating a lot in the final third in the first half, but I thought in the second half we were doing a better job of getting shots on goal and putting the 'keeper under pressure."
 
The goal came off a great run from first-year midfielder Ryan Lewis. The second half substitute chested down a long-ball from Dylan Hooper and played the perfect pass onto Fraser's head. The fifth-year forward then powered the ball past a helpless UBCO goalkeeper to secure the victory.
 
"We made some subs and I thought we started to impose ourselves a little bit. We got opportunities and never stopped," said Antulov. "That's one thing I like about our team, we never stop and always keep putting pressure on and we were able to get that second goal which was huge for us."
 
The win sees TRU grab their first victory of the year and moves their record to 1-0-2. The result is also the first decisive victory in the battle for the President's Cup, a year-long competition across all sports between TRU and UBCO.
 
These teams will be back in action tomorrow, with a scheduled start time of 3:30 p.m. in Kelowna.
 
"We know they will come out even harder tomorrow," said Antulov. "We have to match the intensity and the battle because they are not going to take their foot off the gas pedal."