The no. 1 ranked Lethbridge Pronghorns and and their outstanding fly half Ashley Patzer proved too much for the No.10 Thunderbirds Sunday afternoon at Thunderbird Park as the defending national champions won 50-0.
The Pronghorns (3-0) used deep kicks supported by evasive runs and clean passing to apply consistent pressure on the UBC defence. The T-Birds (1-2) had no answer for the visitors relentless attack and could do little to counter against a composed Lethbridge defence.
Patzer, a shifty flyhalf with national team experience, consistently made T-Bird tacklers miss to put her team within striking distance of the UBC end zone. When not putting her teammates in position to score she was crossing the line herself putting the ball down on either side of halftime in the 39th and 43rd minutes respectively. Patzer converted five of Lethbridge's eight tries to give her 20 points on the afternoon.
"We didn't play like a team today and we definitely deserved the result we got," said UBC coach Lesley McKenzie.
Skillful kicking combined with turnovers and missed tackles by the T-Birds resulted in the Pronghorns gaining consistent penetration into the UBC end. The resulting good field position and strong runs lead to four tries in each half for the Lethbidge.
Any sparks generated by the 'Birds were snuffed out by the determined tackling by the 'Horns.
Radha Jain did her best to counter for her side but despite some strong runs from the 2008 All-Canadian the 'Birds were unable to mount any consistent offensive pressure.
"It was a physical game and we didn't come prepared to make tough tackles, we gave them too much respect throughout the game," added McKenzie.
Lethbridge closes out their regular season at home against Alberta on October 18th while UBC travels to Victoria on Saturday October 17th for their first road test of the season versus the Vikes, kickoff is scheduled for 11:30 am.
Scoring Summary
- 11th minute - Leth #12 Reeves (Patzer)
- 19th minute - Leth #15 Orr (Patzer)
- 33rd minute - Leth #13 Court (Patzer)
- 40th minute - Leth #10 Patzer (Patzer)
- 43rd minute - Leth #10 Patzer (Patzer)
- 50th minute - Leth #13 Court (missed convert)
- 61st minute - Leth #14 Ralph (missed convert)
- 66th minute - Leth #16 Letal (missed convert)
