VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds survived a wild finish on Saturday to pick up a 3-2 win against Victoria at Wright Field and claim the Canada West title for the eighth year in a row.
The T-Birds held a 3-1 lead until Perri Espeseth hammered a shot home off a Vikes penalty corner in the 57th minute, and the visitors continued to apply the pressure until the final buzzer as they searched for an equalizer.
With just over three minutes remaining, back-to-back cards to UBC's
Sarah MacAulay and
Jenna McNeil had the 'Birds down two players, but goalkeeper
Bea Francisco and the T-Bird defence held firm against heavy pressure from Victoria.
"I'm hoping that they will learn from those kinds of pressure situations," said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee. "I remember asking them how they were feeling before the game, and you could just sense the nervousness. I said 'this is good, this is what you work so hard for,' and it's kind of weird that you have to work so hard all season to feel like that, but once they got out there I thought they played really well."
UBC's standout rookie
Natalie Sourisseau scored two goals, including the game-winner just two minutes before Espeseth got the Vikes' second goal. She collected a loose ball in the middle of the circle with her back to the goal, but was able to turn and shoot before defenders could close in on her to put the home side up 3-1.
With so much on the line for both teams, several T-Birds rose to the occasion with impressive efforts on Saturday. While UBC needed the win to clinch the conference title, the Vikes needed at least a point this weekend to assure themselves of a CIS tournament berth.
"A lot of kids had really good games," said Kanjee. "
Sarah MacAulay and
Miranda Mann played great, Sammy Saddler helped us out a few times on defence, but
Caitlin Evans just had a stunning game and Kristen Bertsch played really well too."
Although the Vikes failed to pick up a point, Calgary's loss to Alberta means Victoria is now guaranteed a spot at nationals regardless of the outcome of Sunday's action.
Kira Graham opened the scoring in the ninth minute, when she collected the rebound from Evans' shot and tucked it past a sprawled out Kaitlyn Williams, who was in goal for the Vikes.
Victoria tied the game up before halftime on a nice individual effort by Courtney Low. She patiently worked her way past a UBC defender along the end line in the circle, and was able to beat Francisco from a sharp angle.
The T-Birds and Vikes will wrap up the regular season on Sunday at 1 p.m., and although the conference standings will not change tomorrow, the sparks should be flying once again at Wright Field as these two CIS tournament-bound squads battle for momentum heading into nationals.
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