VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds are now alone atop the Canada West standings after completing the weekend sweep over the Alberta Pandas with a 3-1 win on Sunday at Wright Field.
UBC sustained pressure in Alberta's end for most of the first half, but were held off the scoresheet until rookie midfielder
Natalie Sourisseau opened the scoring in the 24th minute, thanks to a nice feed from
Kira Graham in the circle.
The 'Birds then padded the lead early in the second half with goals from
Katie Jameson and
Shanlee Johnston. An opportunity off a penalty corner in the 41st minute was almost lost when Vickie Pearson's shot found the crossbar, but Jameson was able to knock the rebound home to make it 2-0 for UBC. Johnston then scored her second goal of the weekend seven minutes later, finishing off a smart cross-circle pass from
Sarah MacAulay.
The 'Birds scored 6 goals in total this weekend, but head coach Hash Kanjee saw opportunities for even more offence on Sunday.
"I counted three chances that we should have scored, so we need to do better with our finishing and capitalize on our chances," said Kanjee. "Structurally, we created some good offense so it's just a matter of that finishing."
The Pandas pulled one back in the 49th minute on a nice individual effort by Kincso Santha. She weaved her way around the UBC defence and into the middle of the circle before hitting a shot in full stride, beating T-Birds goalkeeper
Bea Francisco to break the shutout.
Despite the one defensive breakdown, Kanjee was happy with the way his young side's progress in limiting their mistakes.
"Today there weren't as many turnovers, so I was happy with that, but the thing to remember is we weren't pressured as much," said Kanjee. "We have to keep getting better at every outing."
The T-Birds now sit at 4-1-1 on the year, good enough for first place after Calgary and Victoria played to a 1-1 draw. The Vikes are in second place at 3-1-2, and Calgary is a close third at 3-2-1.
The Pandas are still winless at 0-6, and will look to get back on track at home next weekend against the Vikes. The T-Birds remain at home next week to host Calgary on Saturday and Sunday at Wright Field. Both games start at 1 p.m.
-30-
