VANCOUVER – The No. 9 UBC Thunderbirds (0-0-2) were held to their second consecutive draw to start the 2019 Canada West season, this time finding a late equalizer to split the match 1-1 with the visiting Fraser Valley Cascades (0-1-1) at Thunderbird Stadium Saturday night.

Despite a strong UBC start to the match, the Cascades were able to find the opener through rookie midfielder Bryana Buttar. A misplaced ball at the UBC backline gifted Buttar an opportunity to play it forward, but instead she took a shot while falling. The ball kindly nestled into the top corner for Buttar's first Canada West goal in spectacular fashion, coming in the 39^th minute.

The home side would put the pressure on UFV to end the half but went into the locker room down 1-0.



Fraser Valley came out the slower team to start the second half but had a golden chance in the 59^th minute as Buttar once again found herself in a great position, and her shot from 20 yards was saved by Moore. The ball somehow came out of Moore's hands after it hit the turf and Cascades forward Simi Lehal pounced on it with the net open, but sent her shot high.

It was UBC's chance to dominate the final 30 minutes though, as they steadily brought the ball inside the UFV half vying for the equalizer. After some wonderful chances for the home team in the last 25 minutes, they were able to capitalize on a loose ball in the opposition's area.

Senior dynamic midfielder Amelia Crawford played in a great cross for second year midfielder Sophie Damian who pounced and slammed the ball home for the tying goal in the 87^th minute.



The Thunderbirds pressed, looking for the late winner, but continued to run into a strong UFV defence as they had all night long.

"Overall we did well tonight, one mistake allowing them to score, but our backline did well controlling the tempo of play," said UBC head coach Jesse Symons on his team's effort. "I think this league is very difficult, every game is tough. Our team is a team that wants to compete every game and compete hard, and tonight we showed that."

UBC heads out of province next week for their first road trip of the season, facing the Mount Royal Cougars on Saturday, September 14^th followed by a visit to Lethbridge the next afternoon.

The Cascades return home to take on Manitoba and Winnipeg next Friday and Saturday for their home opening weekend.