VANCOUVER – A CIS women's field hockey championship rematch to kick off the 2016 season ended 1-1 between the defending titlist UBC Thunderbirds and the 2015 finalist Victoria Vikes at Wright Field in Vancouver on Saturday.
 
"It's always a fight when we have to play against UVic," said fifth-year UBC star Hannah Haughn. "They are our CIS rivals and we really stuck to our game plan. So I'm really happy with how the team played."
 
The Thunderbirds defeated the Vikes 3-2 in a shootout in last year's national championship final in Victoria.


 
On Saturday, forward Abbey MacLellan scored UBC's goal in the 23rd minute to give the home side a 1-0 lead at halftime. Rosie Beale, a fifth-year defender for Victoria, tied the match in the 47th and allowed her team to earn a point in its opening game.
 
"I think we did well to move the ball early in the first half," said UBC head coach Robin D'Abreo. "We generated some successes with that. I think we got away from the short passing game a bit in the second half and it was hard for us to keep our focus when one of our girls got hurt."


 
Haughn dove on a loose ball in the scoring area and knocked a cross-goal pass to a wide-open MacLellan, who made no mistake in scoring her first CIS goal. However, she was forced to leave the game with less than two minutes left in the opening half after getting struck in the head with a ball.
 
Then in the second half, the Vikes earned a penalty stroke 47th minute, and Beale stepped up to shoot the ball past UBC goalkeeper Gabriella Switzer.
 
The two teams will wrap up their weekend doubleheader with an 11 a.m. match at Wright Field.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
UVIC: 0 – 1 : 1
UBC:  1 – 0 : 1
 
SCORING 
UVIC: Rosie Beale (47')
UBC:  Abbey MacLellan (23')
 
GOALKEEPING
UVIC: Larissa Piva, 70 minutes played, 1 goal against
UBC:  Gabriella Switzer, 70 minutes played, 1 goal against
 
CARDS
UVIC: Kathleen Leahy (GC - 48'), Amanda Kurianowicz (GC - 50')
UBC:  none