VICTORIA - The UBC Thunderbirds capped off an undefeated 2009 CIS Championship with a near perfect performance in the gold medal final, beating conference rivals Alberta 6-0 for their record 12th McCrae Cup. They finished the tournament with a 4-0-1 record.
The T-Birds came into the 2009 National Championship tied with Victoria for the most CIS field hockey championships (11), but after a near flawless weekend they reclaimed top spot in Canadian University field hockey lore.
It was UBC's first title since 2006 after they finished fourth in 2007 and third last year's tournament, also in Victoria.
Head coach Hash Kanjee has led the T-Birds to seven of those 12 national titles in his 17 seasons at the helm of the program and thought his squad was quite deserving of this year's victory.
"This is a team that really plays well together. Ever since our preseason trip to Argentina, they have being getting strong as a group and it really showed today. There were so many outstanding performances," said Kanjee.
The T-Birds left little doubt to their intentions today, with CIS Tournament 11 member
Elise Milosevich putting her squad up 1-0 in the first minute.
Milosevich, a 2009 CIS All-Canadian, received a deft pass at the top of the crease from fellow All-Canadian and tournament all-star
Kristyn Harrington before turning and rocketing a low shot passed Alberta goalie Tory Spencer.
Tournament MVP
Robyn Pendleton added to the T-Birds lead just 10 minutes later after the T-Birds won a short corner on a great individual effort by CIS Rookie of the Year
Abigail Raye. After failing to convert on that short corner, the T-Birds maintained possession and Pendleton secured the 2-0 lead with a confident strike from the centre of the crease.
Raye made it a 3-0 lead 27 minutes into the game, slamming home a loose ball following another T-Bird short corner.
The Pandas were unable to manage any sustained pressure in the UBC end and they didn't win their first penalty corner until the 29th minute, however, the often lethal Pandas failed to convert on their best chance of the half.
The second 35 saw both teams battling for field position before an offensive outburst by the top seeded T-Birds settled UBC's largest margin of victory in a CIS final under Kanjee.
Whitney Kroll scored on the T-Birds second short corner of the half, as she tapped in a pass from in close to put UBC up 4-0 in the 50th minute.
Raye added her second 10 minutes later, stealing the ball from a Panda defender just inside the half and streaking down the sideline before sending it in to Pendleton who returned the favour with Raye finishing the outstanding duo's play.
Kira Graham put an exclamation point on the victory with a wicked goal just a minute later, receiving a pass at the top of the crease and firing home a precise shot just inside the post.
Rookie
Dina Bulfone picked up the shutout for the 'Birds and was rarely tested over the 70 minutes.
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