VANCOUVER - It didn't take long for the offence to get revved up for UBC in the new season, as the Thunderbirds struck early and often to take their 2012 Canada West opener 5-1 against the Calgary Dinos on Friday at Thunderbird Stadium.
BOXSCORE
Reigning conference scoring champion
Janine Frazao picked up where she left off, finding the back of the net just seconds into the match. UBC pushed the ball forward right from the kickoff and put the Dinos under pressure. Calgary was unable to clear the initial attack and Frazao picked up a loose ball just outside the six yard box, slamming it home inside the near post for an early UBC lead.
They doubled the lead in the 13th minute when Frazao helped set up another chance. She made an attacking run with the ball to draw defenders before playing it off to
Rachel Ramsden on the right wing. Ramsden swung in a low cross to
Taryn Lim, who's first-touch shot left Dinos keeper Lauren Good with no chance.
WSOC: T-Birds v. Calgary (Sept. 8, 2012) Gallery
"To score and go up 2-0 early means they have to start to come at us, so in the second half we got a lot of opportunities from that," said UBC head coach Mark Rogers.
The 'Birds capitalized on two of those opportunities in quick succession midway through the second half, courtesy of centre back
Alisha Penev. First in the 65th minute she nodded one home off a Rachel Sawer corner, and then just three minutes later she struck with her head once again, this time from a Ramsden corner, to make it 4-0 UBC.
"There were a lot of positives on attack with Janine getting a goal and Taryn getting two, but I'm just as happy for Alisha because we've done a lot of work on set pieces, so for her to come forward and bury two to kill the game for us was really pleasing," Rogers said.
Despite the 'Birds setting the pace of play for most of the match, the Dinos managed to get on the board with a very nice goal of their own in the 76th minute. A long cross came in from the right wing and Maddie Lee was there to meet it with a brilliant shot on the volley to break the UBC shutout.
The celebrations were very short-lived for the Dinos though, as Lim netted her second of the match at the other end of the pitch for UBC just over a minute later. She let fly with a speculative effort from long range and managed to fit it perfectly into the top corner to cap off the win for the 'Birds.
"She's such a lovable kid. She goes out there all heart, fights for everything and competes hard," Rogers said of Lim. "She creates so much joy for Janine doing a lot of the hard work to create those scoring chances, so for her to have the limelight a bit today was nice."
UBC outshot Calgary 17-3 on their way to victory. They will look to finish opening weekend strong when they wrap it up tomorrow hosting the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Game time is 5 p.m., once again at Thunderbird Stadium.
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