LETHBRIDGE – On the strength of three first half goals, the UBC Thunderbirds completed a perfect road trip through Alberta with a 4-0 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns in Canada West soccer action.
Alyssa Hunt,
Vanessa Tome and
Nisa Reehal scored the T-Birds after opening the scoring with a Pronghorn own goal.
The loss drops the Pronghorns record to 0-2-2, while with a six-point weekend after beating Mount Royal yesterday improves to 2-0-2.
"We got off to a good start with such a good mindset from the players today," said UBC head coach
Jesse Symons. "Credit to
Michelle Jang who really created the tempo going forward early on. I also felt our back four managed any threats very well through the game allowing us to get forward and keep the ball for long stretches."
Only three minutes into the game, the Thunderbirds benefited from an unfortunate Pronghorn bounce. Following a T-Bird cross into the box form
Michelle Jang, the cross was miss played by a Pronghorn defender for an own goal.
Holding majority of the ball possession, UBC pushed for a second goal and came dangerously close in the 15ht minute. Following a cross that ricochet off a body in front and was stopped by Horns keeper Chelsey Galbraith,
Alyssa Hunt collect the rebound and blasted a shot off the post.
UBC's control pressure paid off in the 27
th minute. Jang was fouled in the Pronghorn penalty area and earned a penalty kick for her team. Hunt stepped up and made no mistake beating Galbraith to the bottom corner for her second of the season.
The Pronghorns best chance of the half came in the 34
th minute from a set piece from 25-yards out. Emina Arima swung a ball into the box only to be punched to safety by Thunderbird keeper
Emily Moore.
Before the half would expire the Thunderbirds added to their goal total. Three minutes short of halftime,
Amelia Crawford sprung substitute
Vanessa Tome, who collected the ball and beat Galbraith off the right post and in for a 3-0 lead at the break.
Continuing with their strong possession game from the opening half, the Thunderbirds kept the Pronghorns off balance and extended the lead to four in the 63
rd minute.
Nisa Reehal beat one Pronghorn defender and raced in from the right flank on a partial break. She finished slotting a shot short side past Galbraith.
"It was exciting to see a few goals with the chances we crate," added Symons" "And also a great highlight to see
Nisa Reehal and
Vanessa Tome providing their first goals as T-Birds."
With a strong defensive structure and majority of the ball possession, the Thunderbirds were able to thwart any offensive attempts from the Pronghorns for the remainder of the half and held the Pronghorns to only four shot attempts in the second half.
On the day, the Thunderbirds directed 21 shots towards the Pronghorn goal with 12 being on goal, while the Pronghorns recorded nine shot attempts with seven finding the mark.
The Pronghorns head out on the road next weekend, traveling to Prince George to face the UNBC Timberwolves and to Calgary to take on the Calgary Dinos. The Thunderbirds will return home to host the Regina Cougars and Saskatchewan Huskies.
