KELOWNA, B.C. - Although it had to wait an extra two days to happen, the UBC Okanagan men's soccer team finally kicked off their 2018 Canada West season on Monday afternoon with a 1-1 draw against the Trinity Western Spartans.

All; the action took place in the second half as the Heat would take the lead on the defending conference silver medalists thanks to a Corbin Beauchemin strike in the 56th minute but the lead would only last nine minutes as Jacob Low tied the game up to close out the scoring.

First half:

The first half provided very little in terms of scoring chances as the Heat would not record a shot on target while the Spartans had just two.

Beauchemin opens the scoring:

It wasn't until the 56th minute that the Heat would get their first shot on goal but they would make it count. Off a corner, the ball would drop to second year midfielder Corbin Beauchemin 10 yards out and he made no mistake firing it into the bottom left corner to give the Heat the lead. Fifth year defender Shaun Pilcher would pick up the assist after connecting first on Nikhil Redyy's ccorner.

Less then 10 minutes later the midfielder would nearly nab a second goal but he was pulled down on a break away just outside the box. Unfortunately for UBCO nothing came of the ensuing free kick.

Trinity levels things up:

In the 65th minute the Spartans would tie things back up thanks to a strike from substitute midfielder Jacob Low. Low connected on a left-to-right cross from Josh Hardy, who would pick up the assist on the play after Low's volley from six yards out found the net.

UBCO Rookies making a start:

Two first year players would get the starting nod for the team as forward Mario Stankovic and midfielder Tyler Dhillon made their first start of their young careers. Several other first year players saw action as several newcomers would come off the bench in the second half including Matthew Brown, Jayden Jordan, Owen Spicker and Aidan Tuck.

Impact players:

Goalie Nicholas Reitsma was making his first career start in a Heat uniform and performed admirably; saving two of the three shots he faced in the match. Forward Luke Warkentin also made his return to the team after taking the 2017 season off and got the start on the front line with the afore mentioned Stankovic.

Next up:

The Heat will be back at it once again on Tuesday afternoon when they face the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on the Nonis Sports Field with kick-off schedule for 3 p.m. PST

~ Oliver Rizun, Heat Sports Information