VANCOUVER – Three second half goals by Ellen Kuyer sent the Fraser Valley Cascades past the No. 9-ranked UBC Thunderbirds 4-3 Saturday night at Thunderbird Park.

UBC (6-3-1) fought back to equalize twice before Kuyer's hat trick goal clinched the victory for the visiting Cascades (4-3-1) in the 86th minute. Maria Verbenkov played a long ball into a waiting Kuyer who flicked it past UBC keep Leah Peric for the winner.

The goal game just after the home-side had equalized on Lisa Furutani's second goal of the match in the 83rd minute. Natalie Hirayama gathered the clearance of her own corner kick and and found Furutani waiting in front of the Fraser Valley goal where she headed it home to level the match at 3-3.

"I'm very disappointed in the result especially after we rallied to equalize." said UBC head coach Mark Rogers. "We made some very costly errors and the ball ended up in our net."

It was the second time in as many matches over the last two weekends that the Cascades have topped the Thunderbirds.

The match looked one-sided at the beginning with UBC controlling the run of the play, eventually leading to a highlight-reel goal by Furutani to open the scoring in the eighth minute. Rachael Sawer attacked down the right wing and sent a precise cross to the far post to Furutani who slid to knock the ball in on the volley for a 1-0 lead.

The Cascades turned the tide in the 20th minute on a free kick by Caitlin Blondin. The midfielder stepped into the ball from 33 yards and let fly a high shot that was held up by the wind and sailed in over Peric to level the match at 1-1.

Fraser Valley re-established their game right from the second half whistle, taking the lead on Kuyer's first goal in the 46th minute. Kuyer did most of the work herself creating space on a 25-yard run to the top of the UBC penalty area where her initial shot was stopped by Peric. UBC was unable to clear the rebound and Kuyer counted to put the Cascades ahead.

Just over 15 minutes later it was UBC's turn to reverse the momentum. This time it was Sawer scoring on a rebound off a Christina Donnelly shot. The second-year striker did well to finish as she took the ball on a high hop and fired it over Cascades keeper Chantelle Biagioni to level the match at 2-2.

Kuyer's second came just two minutes after UBC had equalized. A turnover at midfield allowed Roxanne Snook to find an open Kuyer just outside the box. She then sent a shot that Peric looked to have initially stopped as she dove to her left but the ball squeezed through her arms and skidded into the net.

The T-Birds will try to regain their form as they take on the No. 7-ranked Trinity Western Spartans on the road in Langley next Saturday. Fraser Valley will look to continue their strong play when they travel to face Canada West table toppers Alberta.