VANCOUVER - The No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds overtook the No. 6 Alberta Pandas for second place in Canada West thanks to a pair of goals from league-leading scorer
Janine Frazao and brilliant goalkeeping by Ally Williamson in their 2-0 win on Friday at Thunderbird Park.
Scoring chances were plentiful for both sides in the first half, but only Frazao had the magic touch. She opened the scoring in the 15th minute off a
Rachel Ramsden cross, heading it home from inside the six yard box at the far post for the eventual game-winner.
The goal was her league-leading ninth of the season, but she wasn't finished there. She picked up her second of the match in the 44th minute from the same spot on a nearly identical play, this time knocking Ramsden's cross in out of midair with her boot.
"The top teams in this league can all beat each other, and tonight it was our night," said UBC head coach Mark Rogers. "Janine's a wonderful player, and she just keeps getting better. I could go on and on about her, but she's just a pleasure to coach."
The T-Birds move into second place with an 8-1-2 record, while the Pandas drop into third at 8-3-0.
Alberta's first big chance of the match came in the 11th minute off a counterattack. A long ball found Kayla Michaels in space behind the UBC defence on the right wing. She carried the ball into the box alone but was stymied by Ally Williamson's kick-save.
The pressure was on for Williamson again soon after, when Amanda Black's strike from 30 yards out forced a fingertip save to send the ball over the crossbar. Black got another shot off on the ensuing corner kick but the ball bounced off the post and out.
Williamson's biggest moment of the game also led to her early exit due to injury. In added time in the first half, a header in the box from Black bounced off the ground and then up off the crossbar.
The rebound off the bar fell to Heather Lund, who blasted it back on goal from point-blank range. Williamson managed to not only block the blast, but reposition herself quickly to make yet another rebound save on Michaels' shot from the side of the 18 yard box.
She came out of the game at halftime with a leg injury, and
Emily Wilson finished the match in goal for UBC.
"It was one of the best saves I've seen in years," said Rogers. "Just a fantastic point-blank save. What can I say about Ally - she's just a fantastic young keeper. And the nice thing for our squad was we got a chance to see our backup Emily, and she's an excellent keeper as well."
Next up for Alberta is a trip to Trinity Western for a tilt with the first-place Spartans on Saturday. The T-Birds host the Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday at Thunderbird Park. Game time is 7:15 p.m.
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