With two video games left within the common season and coming off a loss to Calgary, UBC linebacker Ryan Baker says “if we need to do the issues we need to do we now have to have the ability to reply and play our sport.”
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The UBC Thunderbirds stay a group with aspirations of chasing a Vanier Cup nationwide championship, even when they misplaced just a little lustre final week.
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The T-Birds have dropped three spots within the U Sports activities soccer rankings, falling to No. 10 within the nation, because of 20-6 street defeat final Saturday to the beforehand winless Calgary Dinos.
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UBC (4-2) has two Canada West common season video games remaining, beginning with the house finale Saturday (1 p.m.) at Thunderbird Stadium towards the Regina Rams (1-5).
This can be a UBC group constructed for this season. That they had gamers cross up on becoming a member of the professional ranks to return again to highschool as a result of they thought there was the potential for a protracted playoff run. We should always be taught quite a bit concerning the group fairly shortly right here.
“If we need to do the issues we need to do, we now have to have the ability to reply and play our sport,” third-year linebacker Ryan Baker, a product of North Vancouver, mentioned Thursday. “We have to get again to the way in which we all know we’re capable of play and never dwell on what’s occurred.”
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There’s a logjam on the prime of the Canada West standings with the T-Birds, Alberta Golden Bears (5-1) and Saskatchewan Huskies (4-2). Saskatchewan is ranked No. 6 within the nation, Alberta is available in at No. 7.
The Manitoba Bisons (3-3) are inside hanging distance of a top-three spot within the Canada West standings, and are comfortably in entrance of the underside pair of Regina and Calgary (1-5).
UBC is at Alberta on Oct. 28 to complete issues off. The T-BIrds can nonetheless end first and take the home-field benefit by way of the 2 rounds of Canada West playoffs in the event that they win out.
UBC head coach Blake Nill believes “it’s a must to expertise some problem in a season,” and what occurred towards the Dinos was a “good shot.” He additionally says that how his gamers “reply on Saturday will inform us concerning the alternatives we’ll have within the postseason. ”
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Baker’s on board with that.
“Coach hit the nail on the pinnacle with that, completely,” mentioned Baker. “Each season there’s adversity. We acquired our first little style it now. This can be a massive week to reply and get again on observe.
“With any season, it’s a must to take it one sport at a time, and stepping into the playoffs is the very first thing. We’ve had our objectives set just a little increased this yr after that. We expect we now have the power to take it as a far as we are able to. Sure, there’s added strain with that, but it surely’s about taking part in soccer and doing the issues that we all know we are able to do. It’s about taking part in to the most effective of our talents.
“It’s robust to say what occurred in Calgary. I believe we got here out just a little flat and we struggled to get the power again as soon as we acquired behind. We haven’t actually skilled taking part in from behind fairly often this yr. We have to be taught from it.”
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The T-Birds scored a 25-10 win in Regina in Week 1, however the Rams have made modifications since then, together with turning over quarterback duties to rookie Owen Sieben, a former star within the B.C. highschool ranks with Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Ravens. Sieben was 18-of-30 for 234 yards with one landing and two interceptions in a 41-34 loss to Manitoba final week. Sieben is a Canada West Rookie of the Yr candidate, because of rating tenth within the nation in each passing yards per sport (246.5) and completion proportion (64.8 per cent).
“He’s doing very well main them,” Baker, who was a star quarterback within the B.C. highschool ranks himself with the Windsor Dukes, mentioned of Sieben. “They’re mixing up what they do. They’ve added some issues.”
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The T-Birds had been No. 5 within the nationwide ballot on Sept. 26. They misplaced 34-31 on the street to Saskatchewan on Sept. 29.
Alberta is at Manitoba on Friday. Calgary is at Saskatchewan on Saturday. Within the last week, it’s Saskatchewan at Regina and Manitoba at Calgary.
UBC hasn’t received Canada West since 2015, which was Nill’s first yr with this system. They went on to seize the Vanier Cup that season, marking their fourth nationwide soccer crown. Members of that group are scheduled to be at Saturday’s match-up, because it’s UBC’s annual Legacy Sport and the 2015 aspect is being added to the Frank Gnup Wall of Honour.
Nill mentioned: “You play to your alumni, you play for the boys who wore the jersey prior to now and who constructed the muse of UBC soccer. There’s a giant custom of excellence and once you have a look at coaches like Frank Gnup, Frank Smith, Casey Smith, and all of the athletes like Shawn Olson, who’s somebody I need our gamers to emulate. He was a quarterback who led his group to a (1997) nationwide championship after which had the braveness to guide his program (as head coach from 2010-14) and now’s an distinctive alumnus. Guys like that you simply need to go to bat for.”
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