Men's Soccer 9/21/2024 5:06:00 PM TRU WolfPack

WolfPack battle Dinos to stalemate on the road

Box Score QUICK FIRE

Abdel Coulibaly's second half tally and strong team defensive effort allowed the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's soccer team to take a point on the road in a 1-1 draw with the Calgary Dinos.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

Coulibaly, a speedy winger from Cote d'Ivoire tallied the first goal of his TRU career. Ranjeet Brar provided the assist on Coulibaly's goal, while Olivier Jumeau made six saves in his first start of the year.
Soliman Aria scored the equalizer for the Dinos with Hany Shafie making four stops.

HOW IT HAPPENED

A scoreless first half was highlighted by an outstanding left footed effort from Soren Kaczor that Shafie was just able to parry away from danger.
The WolfPack found the go-ahead marker in the 80th minute. After the TRU defence broke up a Dinos' attack, Brar sent a perfectly weighted pass into the path of an onrushing Coulibaly and the first-year midfielder made no mistake to slot the ball into the back of the net.
That lead was short-lived however, as the Dinos were able to equalize just five minutes later when Aria pounced on a loose ball in the WolfPack 18-yard box.
From there the WolfPack and the Dinos traded chances in a hectic finish to the game but neither team was able to find the winner.

NOTABLE

TRU is now 1-5-1 on the season while the Dinos are 4-1-3.
Jumeau's start came after the Master's of Environmental Sciences major was forced to miss preseason while doing field research.
Coulibaly's goal and Brar's assist were both the first point in their respective Canada West career.

QUOTABLE (TRU head coach, John Antulov)

"I thought up until the 85th minute when they got their goal that we were really good. We kind of kept them at bay and it was a good battle both ways. We were good and solid and then obviously when they scored that goal it got a little herky jerky there for the last ten minutes."
"It was good to be able to battle through and get a point from a solid side, we really needed that from a mental standpoint with our confidence - because the second halves for us haven't been very good lately."

UP NEXT

TRU will remain on the road tomorrow as they travel to Edmonton to face the Alberta Golden Bears in a game that kicks off at 1:15 p.m. PT.

Players Mentioned