VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (1-2) are looking to build momentum down the stretch of the regular season when they host the Lethbridge Pronghorns (1-1) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. PT at the Gerald McGavin Rugby Centre. UBC is coming off a dominant victory over Alberta and currently leads the conference in scoring with 111 points, while also scoring four or more tries twice so far this season.
Third-year T-Bird centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa had a masterful 18-point performance against the Pandas and is now first in the Canada West scoring race with 36 total points (4 tries and 8 converts). The 2018 Canada West All-Star was also named the conference's third star of the week.
UBC last faced Lethbridge on September 14, 2018 when they earned a 22-7 win over the Pronghorns thanks, in part, to Seumanutafa's two tries and a convert.
Last Action
The T-Birds overpowered Alberta right from the get-go and cruised to a 63-0 drubbing of the Pandas last Sunday on a rain-soaked home field for their first win of the season. Meanwhile, Lethbridge lost to the top-seeded Calgary Dinos a week ago but posted a 27-0 victory over Alberta in their first match of the season.
The Pronghorns will be in Victoria to take on the undefeated Vikes (3-0) Friday evening before meeting the 'Birds Sunday afternoon.
Coach's Take
Thunderbird head coach Dean Murten was impressed with how his team handled the Pandas to earn a much-needed four points.
"We have been in the lead a few times this year and not managed the game well enough to come away with a win," said Murten. "The players kept a good focus throughout and when we made changes to personnel they kept the same intensity going."
Murten knows his team will have to be mentally and physically prepared for a tough test against the Pronghorns.
"Lethbridge has had some great performances so far in the season," added Murten. "The priority for us has been a few days of light training and recovery, tomorrow will be a hard fast session, then we will preview Lethbridge to put a game plan in place. The message is simple, the last game does not matter, we have won nothing and you're only as good as your last game."
