Navid Mashinchi of Port Moody opened the scoring and set up another goal to spark the UBC Thunderbirds to 4-2 victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades in a university men's soccer battle Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium.
Marco Visintin then capitalized on two penalty-kick chances in the second half to wrap up the win.
Mashinchi wasted no time making his mark on the game, curling the first shot of the contest in to the far top corner from just outside the 18 yard box in the fourth minute. Ten minutes later, he set up Gagandeep Dosanjh's first goal of the season from the same spot, sending a low cross through the six-yard box that was redirected home from point-blank range.
"One of the benefits of having a veteran-laden group is they know the league, they know the standard of play we expect, and they've played together a lot so I think they are coming in at a pretty good level to start the season," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. "We've got some good technical players like Sean Haley, Gagan and Navid and, when they get going and play off each other, it can be really nice to watch."
Fouls played a big role in the game, with three goals coming as a direct result of a foul, and nine yellow cards handed out between the teams.
The T-birds' next home game is Sept. 30 versus Lethbridge.
