The Matchup
The red-hot T-Birds are on the road again as they take a four game win streak into Kamloops and Kelowna to face Thompson Rivers University on Saturday at 12:00pm PST and UBC Okanagan on Sunday at 1:00pm PST.
In their previous meetings with the Wolfpack and Heat, the 'Birds tallied a whopping ten goals for and zero goals against – topping TRU 8-0 and blanking UBCO 2-0. Perennial powerhouse
Jasmin Dhanda put up a four-spot against the Wolfpack at Thunderbird Stadium a year ago, while
Aman Shergill notched a triple of her own over the two game set.
Last Action
UBC swept their home opening weekend in convincing fashion, winning 5-0 over Winnipeg and 4-1 over Manitoba to improve to 4-1 atop the Canada West standings.
Head Coach
Jesse Symons is happy with a number of standout performers early in the 2017 campaign. "We've had some consistent performances with [Shergill] and [Dhanda] getting points in each of the last 4 matches, but having scoring come from
Margaret Hadley,
Danielle Steer,
Liesanne Musico and
Meghan Douglas over the past weekend is showing our depth and quality all over the field."
TRU earned their first victory of the season in Regina after falling in three straight to start the year, while UBCO has yet to record a win – but picked up a 2-2 draw with Regina last weekend.
By the Numbers
12 – UBC's potent offense has been clicking so far this season, leading the Canada West with 12 assists on the season - while also topping the league in shots on goal (43) and total goals scored (15).
22 – TRU's goalkeeper Danielle Robertson has racked up 22 saves in just three games (270:00 minutes) - third most in the league.
Players To Watch
Margaret Hadley – (#11, F) – the fourth-year forward netted her first and second goals as a Thunderbird in a pair of victories a week ago, while adding two assists against Winnipeg. Hadley is now the third highest scorer on the 'Birds with 8 points - behind Shergill (15) and Dhanda (14).
Brienna Shaw – (#24, D) – in her 5th year of eligibility, the Vancouver native is back into U Sports action and bolstering the T-Bird back line.
Quotable
Coach Symons says his squad is looking forward to the weekend trip through BC.
"Both teams are opening up at home this weekend so we will need to be motivated to come out strong. Both TRU and UBCO will be well structured and expect to cause us different problems to solve in and out of possession. We will be motivated to keep possession and continue to progress in each match."
