VANCOUVER - In a rematch of last season's Canada west gold medal match it was the No.7-ranked UBC Thunderbirds avenging their defeat as they prevailed over the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-0 Friday night at Thunderbird Park.
UBC (6-1-1) got off to a quick start commanding the ball and having an early territorial advantage over Fraser Valley (3-4-2).
Despite the early pressure UBC got on the board with a somewhat surprising goal in the 14th minute. Third-year forward
Taryn Lim received from
Lisa Furutani on the right flank and let fly from more than 30 yards out. Her shot caught Cascade keeper Chantelle Biagioni off guard and the ball found its way inside the far post for a 1-0 T-Bird lead.
Twelve minutes later UBC captain
Natalie Hirayama produced a fantastic solo effort to put her side ahead by two. The fifth-year midfielder moved into the right side of the area and made a move around a defender, lost then regained the ball and fired a low hard shot inside the near post.
The best chance for the Cascades came early on when Danielle Schmidt took a free kick from 25 and send a shot high over the UBC wall that was knocked away with a well-timed punch by UBC keeper
Alyssa Williamson.
Open play in the second half was again dominated by the Thunderbirds with
Janine Frazao leading the charge.
The third-year striker added to her conference-leading goal tally in the 50th minute when she received a long ball from keeper
Alyssa Williamson and found her way behind the Cascade back four. Frazao noticed Biagioni well off her line and sent a perfect lob over the goalie for her eighth goal of the season and a 3-0 lead.
In the second half Fraser Valley's best chances to get on the board again came off set plays from Schmidt. In the 65th minute she took a shot from just outside the UBC area that beat Williamson but rattled off the crossbar and out of harm's way.
Schmidt followed that effort with a similar strike in the 77th minute. This time she sent an even higher ball from 25 yards that Williamson did well to knock over the bar.
The T-Birds had a chance to make the score even more lopsided as both Frazao and Rachel Sawer had a chance to count when they were sent in on breakaways but could not find the target.
Williamson continues to impress during her first season as a Thunderbird as she made three saves to record the win and her conference-leading seventh clean sheet of the season.
Fraser Valley travel to Langley on Saturday to face the Trinity Western Spartans while UBC will host provincial rivals Victoria also on Saturday. Both games are set to kickoff at 5:00 p.m.
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