In the midst of a grinding affair the UBC Thunderbirds perseverance payed of with a late tally to get past the visiting Alberta Golden Bears 1-0 in Canada West quarter-final playoff action on a windy Friday evening at Thunderbird Stadium.

T-Birds defender Jordan Haynes delivered a left footed corner kick that went untouched and curled in just in front of the back post in the 76^th minute was the difference in propelling UBC to host final four post-season play next weekend.

?? MSOC | @ubcmsoc breaks the deadlock thanks to Jordan Haynes' crafty cross that curls in at the back post untouched in minute 76. T-Birds up 1-0 over @BearsandPandas in @CanadaWest QF playoff action.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/bGLvGz9Lb9

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) October 26, 2019

Alberta replied with a great chance of their own in the 25^th, as midfielder David Chung received a ball inside the UBC half and went at the T-Birds backline but sent his shot wide to the right of goalkeeper Jason Roberts.

Just before half time on one of many long throw ins by UBC on the evening Mackenzie Cole gathered the ball and put a shot on frame that was cleared off the line, the ball came back to him a second time, but it was blocked.

?? MSOC | @ubcmsoc with a flurry of chances including a rope from Thomas Gardner that was nicely turned aside by @BearsandPandas goalkeeper Liam Collens in minute 56. Remains 0-0 here in @CanadaWest quarter-final playoff action at Thunderbird Stadium.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/TECKJUyLSO

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) October 26, 2019

In the 56^th minute, UBC midfielder Thomas Gardner unleashed a thunderbolt strike from 23 yards on target but Alberta goalkeeper Liam Collens made an acrobatic save to find it through traffic and turn it aside. Sean Einarsson was there for the rebound, but his shot was well blocked by a collection of Golden Bears defenders.  

In the 76^th minute, the home side were not to be denied. Jordan Haynes delivered a high floating ball towards the Alberta 18-yard-box, that went past everybody and curled inside the back post to give the hosts a 1-0 lead they wouldn't look back from.



The Golden Bears were forced to go at UBC in the late going, but the stingy Thunderbirds team shut down any Alberta forays going forward.

"We knew the second half was going to be different then the first," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher post game. "I thought we were the better team in the opening half, but we just figured the second half the game would change, and it did. The first 15 or 20 minutes after the break we had some decent opportunities and we knew we were going to get one, it was an odd one but it wasn't going to be pretty with the wind."

With the victory UBC advances to host the Final Four, for a third straight season, winning the previous two in thrilling fashion. The T-Birds will play the winner of Saturday night's quarterfinal between UVic and the Saskatchewan Huskies.