VANCOUVER – A strong second half effort kept the UBC Thunderbirds' perfect season going on Saturday, pushing the 'Birds past Victoria 3-1 at Wright Field.

UBC already had the conference title locked up heading into the weekend, but the Vikes didn't seem to lack motivation in the first half.

Cassandra Tayler cleaned up a loose ball in front of goal in the 13th minute to give UBC the lead, but the Vikes responded in the 25th. Amanda Kurianowicz finished off a speedy run into the circle that resulted in a hard collision on the UBC goal line.

That seemed to get the Vikes energized, and although they failed to find another goal before the break, they did threaten with multiple chances and seemed to be outrunning the T-Birds at times.

"The kids are working very hard and we have a bunch of players on the national team who are practicing seven days a week, so I think there's a bit of fatigue creeping in there, but they know we can do better than that," said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee.

One of those national team members, third-year forward Kate Gillis, helped to get things turned around for the 'Birds in the second half. She gave UBC the lead again in the 42nd minute, firing a low shot inside the far post to beat Vikes keeper Sheriden Goodmanson.

Gillis picked up UBC's third field goal of the match in the 51st minute, and the defence looked much tighter in the second half. Miranda Mann made a nice stick save to clear a ball off the goal line on a Vikes penalty to help the 'Birds hold on for the win.

"Much better second half but I am a little upset with the kids and I'm sure they will be upset with themselves as well," Kanjee said. "They know they didn't play very well. Way too many unforced errors and a little bit of a struggle getting the ball in the circle and getting something out of it. We got no penalty corners in the second half, so we do have some things we have to address."

The 'Birds are now 7-0-0, with the regular season finale going tomorrow against Victoria. Both teams will advance to the CIS Championship, which runs November 1-4 in Toronto.