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Mitch McCaw’s outstanding play in net for the UBC Okanagan Heat led to a six-point weekend and has earned the fourth-year student the CIS Canada West male athlete-of-the-week honours.
After allowing two goals in the first half against Calgary on Saturday, McCaw closed the door on the Dinos and then again versus the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Sunday, not letting another ball past him for the rest of the weekend.
Holding Calgary at two goals and turning aside seven shots set the stage for an exciting 3-2 UBC Okanagan comeback win.
On Sunday, Lethbridge put the pressure on after UBCO went up 1-0 late in the game. McCaw made two brilliant saves in the final minutes to preserve the shutout and UBCO victory.
McCaw, a native of Calgary who transferred from Concordia University in Portland, Ore. this fall, is back in action with the Heat (2-2-1) this weekend when they take to the road to Edmonton to play the No. 2 nationally ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears (7-0-1) on Saturday and the winless MacEwan University Griffins (0-5-1) on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the UBCO women’s soccer team will play host to the Fraser Valley Cascades in CIS Canada West play on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. On Sunday (1 p.m.) they take on the Trinity Western Spartans, also on Nonis Field.
Heat's Fagan on a roll in cross country running
Veronika Fagan of West Kelowna covered a four-kilometre course in 15 minutes 18 seconds to lead the field of women in the second straight UBC Okanagan-Thompson Rivers university dual cross country meet on the weekend in Kelowna.
For the Mt. Boucherie Secondary School graduate and second- year Science of Nursing student, it was her second win of the early season.
Teammates Anna Merino (Calgary), Josie Storey, and Camille Galloway placed third, fourth and sixth respectively on the Quail Ridge trails to give the women a total score of 14 points. The TRU WolfPack women showed just how strong the program is becoming under head coach Carmin Mazzotta, with finishes of second, fifth, seventh and eighth for an overall score of 22 points.
In the men’s collegiate division, the Heat and WolfPack tied with 18 points a piece. UBCO runners finished the 6K course in second (Cael Warner), third (Michael Mitchell), sixth (Sam Goodrich) and seventh (Cailan Libby).
The Heat are now preparing for their third meet of the season — the Larry Nicholas 9K Run — on Oct. 16 at Mission Creek Park in Kelowna.
Women's rugby team aim to rebound on Saturday
The UBC Okanagan Heat women’s rugby team will attempt to get on the winning track on Saturday (11:30 a.m.) when they play host to Simon Fraser University in a B.C.Rugby Union Division 1 match at Parkinson Sportfields.
With 15 new players on the roster and with just two weeks of practice, the Heat were no match for the BCRU powerhouse Abbotsford RFC on Saturday in Kelowna as the visitors cruised to a 61-0 victory.
Despite the lopsided loss, Heat coach Danny Weidner, was still positive.
“The score was not reflective of the match, especially considering we had 60 to 70 per cent of the ball possession,” offered Weidner.
"We started the game strong and maintained possession through multiple phases of play," he noted. "After working hard to build phase play and work down field, the team didn’t see the results reflected with points. "Unfortunately multiple turnovers allowed led to the majority of Abbotsford’s scores as the visiting team was quick to steal the ball and handle out wide quickly and turn into points."
Heat players of the match were Kara Ware (blindside flanker) and Jacqueline Dubreuil (inside centre).
Weidner is already looking forward to Saturday and the team’s home match against Simon Fraser.
"The girls still need to work on the basics and iron out some areas of their game to capitalize on offensive and defensive opportunities," he said.
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