LETHBRIDGE – Battling blustery southern Alberta winds, the UBC Thunderbirds held off provincial counterpart Victoria Vikes 21-19 and will play for a Canada West title, facing the defending Canada West Champion Calgary Dinos Sunday afternoon.
After splitting the season series with the Vikes, UBC got out to a 21-7 lead and the difference ended up being a missed convert that was kicked into the teeth of the southern Alberta wind. The win will also give the Thunderbirds their first appearance in the national tournament since hosting in 2009.
Victoria will face the host Lethbridge Pronghorns in the third place game on Sunday at 11:00 am.
The Thunderbirds got off on the right foot, opening the scoring 14 minutes into the contest.
Gillian Boag broke through the Vikes defence to touch down the try right under the uprights.
Shoshanah Seumanutafa made the covert to put the T-Birds up 7-0 early.
Answering right back, the Vikes evened the match only seven minutes later. Paige Farries finished off a strong offensive push from Victoria and Maddy Aberg tied the game at seven with a convert from directly in front of the uprights.
Always dangerous, Seumanutafa broke a try 20-yards out 36 minutes in and converted her own try to put the Thunderbirds back out in front, 14-7
Victoria looked for an answer late in the opening half. In stoppage time, the Vikes moved the ball the width of the field but had a costly turnover that turned the Vikes attack back from near the T-Birds endzone and into half time.
To open the second half, UBC and Victoria traded field possession back-and-forth but it was the Thunderbirds that nearly added to their lead. Seumanutafa squib kicked the ball towards the Vikes goal-line but a knock-on turned the Thunderbirds away.
In the 55
th minute, the Thunderbirds did add to their lead.
Breanna Aikens broke through the Vikes line to add a third UBC try and with Seumanutafa's third convert of the day, the lead increased to 21-7.
Seumanutafa continued to have a impact on the game. With Victoria pushing the T-Birds deep into their own end, Seumanutafa broke a long run to chew up valuable field position.
However, the Vikes were able to cut into the lead in the 65
th minute. Following a pair of long Vikes runs and a Thunderbird penalty, Maddy Aberg scored the unconverted try to cut the deficit to 21-12.
Back in their own end, senior back Paige Farries broke a pair of tackles and raced for a 60 yard scamper for her second try of the day and with her own convert, brought Victoria back within only two points with just over five minutes to play
After the UBC kick off went straight out of bounds, the Vikes looked like they would threaten again but were unable to find the score needed to advance to the Championship game.
Scoring Summary UBC vs VIC
UBC 14-7-21
VIC 7-12-19
First Half
14' UBC Try -
Gillian Boag (convert
Shoshanah Seumanutafa) 7-0
21' VIC Try – Paige Farries (convert Maddy Aberg) 7-7
36' UBC Try –
Shoshanah Seumanutafa (convert
Shoshanah Seumanutafa) 14-7
Second Half
55' UBC Try –
Breanna Aikens (convert
Shoshanah Seumanutafa) 21-7
65' VIC Try – Maddy Aberg (convert missed) 21-12
74' VIC Try – Paige Farries (convert Maddy Aberg) 21-19
