PRINCE GEORGE, BC – It took a bit for the UBC offence to warm up on a damp, chilly night in Northern BC, but in the second half they ignited for a three goal  outburst to down the UNBC Timberwolves 4-1.
 
Jasmin Dhanda paced the Thunderbirds (2-0-4) with two goals, while Rachel Jones and Janna Speed also scored for the defending CIS champions. Paige Payne replied for the Timberwolves, her first career CIS goal.
 

Today's starting 11 #gobirdsgo #BleedBlue pic.twitter.com/j2OzHVcYfo

— UBC Women's Soccer (@ubcwsoc) September 24, 2016

 
"It was nice getting a couple goals today," said Dhanda. "The team picked it up in the second half and we were connecting well."
 
Emily Moore made three saves to pick up her first CIS victory for the Thunderbirds, while Lianna Toopitsin was busy, stopping 11 UBC shots. UBC outshot the Timberwolves 29-4 in the contest.
 
"We wanted to put in a 90 minute performance and on a difficult slippery field we did well," said UBC Head Coach Jesse Symons. "We created a monumental amount of chances which is a great credit to our players."


 
The Thunderbirds controlled the pace of play in the game's opening 10 minutes, though Toopitsin was up to the task with a number of key saves.
 
UNBC struck first, as a free kick from Tianna Pius found its way into the six-yard box, where Payne retrieved it and found the open net for a 1-0 Timberwolves lead in the 11th minute.
 
The Thunderbirds continued to apply pressure throughout the first half and their persistence was rewarded in the 30th minute. Dhanda, the reigning Gunn Baldursson Memorial Award winner as the MVP of the 2015 CIS Women's Soccer Championship, received a through-ball from Aman Shergill inside the 18-yard box and calmly side-footed the ball past Toopitsin to level the match at 1-1 going into halftime.


 
UBC took the lead in the 68th minute on a very similar goal to the first, with Jones finishing off the play after a flick from Dhanda, beating Toopitsin to the far side to put the Thunderbirds up 2-1.
 
Seven minutes later, Dhanda finished off a give-and-go with Jones to extend the lead further before Speed added an insurance marker in the 89th minute.
 
At one point in the game UBC had six first-year players on the field.
 

Congrats to our game MVP, she worked hard all game and scored an amazing goal #proud #GoBirdsGo #ubcwomenssoccer pic.twitter.com/By8FRz4PGC

— UBC Women's Soccer (@ubcwsoc) September 24, 2016

 
"The young players made a difference today," said Dhanda. "It will be exciting to see them continue to grow and progress."
 
"We started well but found ourselves down on a free kick," added Symons. "We have a great mindset to come back when we go down."
 
UBC will now travel to Edmonton to battle the University of Alberta Pandas (3-0-2). Kickoff is Sunday, September 25th at 11 AM (PT). The game can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.

-with files from Geordie Carragher (UNBC Athletics)