VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds had already locked up their ninth straight Canada West title, but they made the banner ceremony that much sweeter for themselves with a 1-0 win over the Alberta Pandas to wrap up the regular season on Sunday at Wright Field.
Canada West All Star
Miranda Mann got the lone marker on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute. The ball was touched off to her at the top of the circle and she hammered a low shot through a crowd and in to put her side on top.
With the conference title already in hand, the T-Birds had some different personnel on the field at times, and weren't as tight defensively as they were in their 2-0 win over Alberta on Friday, but they still managed to keep the Pandas off the board to help goalkeeper
Bea Francisco earn her league-leading fifth shutout of the year.
"I don't even think about that stuff," Kanjee said in reference to winning his ninth straight Canada West title. "I just want the kids to play well, and I thought we played very well yesterday but maybe slipped a bit today. I don't think we brought the right mindset today but it's nice to win even when you're not at your best."
The win sees UBC finish with an 8-2-2 record on the year. Alberta wraps up at 4-6-2 in third place.
UBC's
Robyn Pendleton was named the Canada West MVP after the contest. She finished second in league scoring with six goals this year.
Fellow T-Bird
Sarah Keglowitsch took home rookie of the year honours, and both players are nominated for the CIS awards in their respective categories as well.
In addition to Pendleton and Mann,
Poonam Sandhu and Kristen Bertsch were named Canada West All Stars for UBC, as were Alberta's Jackie Trautman and Julianna Cormier.
The Pandas will still join UBC in Calgary for the CIS championships. The tournament will be held at the University of Calgary from November 3-6.
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