VANCOUVER – The No. 10 UBC Thunderbirds and the No. 8 Alberta Pandas women's soccer teams played to a scoreless draw on Saturday afternoon at Edmonton's Foote Field.
"A draw was a fair result," said UBC head coach Mark Rogers. "Both teams created a few chances in a tight game."
The 'Birds and Pandas traded only a handful of scoring opportunities through a match that featured physical play, stingy defence and solid goaltending.
UBC goalkeeper
Alyssa Williamson (Langley, BC) only had to stop one ball to tie the Canada West shutout lead with her fifth in 2012.
Alberta third-year goalkeeper Keltie Biggs made nine saves for her fourth clean sheet of the year.
The home team hit the crossbar twice in the first half. In the seventh minute, Kayla Michaels' strike from outside the UBC box hit the woodwork. Then in the 21st, Briony Buchanan hit the underside of the bar with her shot and the ball landed on the goal line before Williamson recovered for UBC.
UBC's best chance came in the 72nd minute as
Rachael Sawer (North Vancouver, BC), who gave Panda defenders fits all game, had her low shot on a two-on-one turned away by a diving Biggs.
"I was pleased with how the girls responded at half time and felt that we were the better team in the second half," said Rogers. "Although we did not get the win, the girls put in a very solid effort and on another day may even have grabbed the win."
The result moves UBC (6-1-1) into a tie for second place in the Canada West conference standings with Victoria after the Vikes lost today at Saskatchewan.
Alberta's record moves to 4-0-3, good enough for fifth place in the league.
UBC will now travel to Calgary to take on Mount Royal on Sunday. Kick off is scheduled for 11 a.m.
- with files from Marcus Miller, University of Alberta Sports Information
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