VANCOUVER - UBC Thunderbirds women's soccer team's best ever regular season came to a close at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday evening and it did so in some style with a 6-0 defeat of the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades and with
Danielle Steer setting another Canada West points record along the way.
It was six of the best on the team's Seniors Night and saw them finish the campaign with 13 wins and just one solitary defeat, with
Jesse Symons' side now turning its attention to the playoffs and their quest for an 8
th national championship.
"Overall from our identity perspective, we want to get on teams early and score goals," Symons said after the match. "We kept going for the first 20 and found a few. Then there was a bit of a lull then I challenged them at half time we need to keep going, we need to have that personality going into the playoffs.Â
"Our job now is to prepare for the playoffs. To win 13 times this season, the first BC team ever to do that in the history of Canada West, and to match the highest points ever is pretty impressive. A good season, now the real season for us begins."Â
As always on Seniors Night, the joy of victory is bittersweet with saying a fond farewell to the graduating players moving on from the team. This year saw eight players say their goodbyes and UBC want to thank
Dakota Chan,
Danielle Steer,
Janika Sangha,
Jessica Williams, Katlin Tolnai,
Sarah Johns,
Sophie Damian, and
Taylor Reynolds for their successes, commitment, and dedication to the team, the program, and to the university these past years.
UBC came out strong and didn't let up throughout the first half, as UFV struggled to get any real foothold in the game and could only manage one shot on target through the first 45 minutes.
Record-breaker
Danielle Steer added to her all-time Canada West career points total when she opened the scoring four minutes in, finishing from close range after Cascades keeper Joven Sandhu was unable to keep hold of a
Katalin Tolnai shot and it was a total that was to be added to in historic levels as the night went on.
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UBC made it two in the 15
th minute when
Sophia Kramer tucked away
Nisa Reehal's shot across goal at the back post before Steer turned provider three minutes later, playing one of her trademark through balls for Tolnai to slot home.
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Tolnai cracked one off the woodwork in the 27
th minute, as the Thunderbirds threatened to run rampant, but the Cascades steadied the ship and saw out the rest of the half.
The second half continued in the same vein with UBC dominant from first whistle to last and they added to their tally just three minutes after the restart when the roles were reversed and Tolnai turned provider for Steer to put away her second of the night.
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UBC made it five in the 75
th minute when
Aislin Phillips played a neat give and go with Steer then danced through the UFV defence to put it away past Sandhu.
That assist from Steer took her to four points on the night and her 22nd of the season, equalling the all-time individual single season points record set by TWU Spartans' Kristen Gommeringer in 2012.
To their credit, the Cascades didn't give up and fought to the end, with Luciana Andrews and Jenna Mele both coming close in the 80
th minute.
The Thunderbirds finished off a great night in the dying second when Sandhu fumbled a
Sophie Damian cross into the box and the loose ball fell perfectly onto the head of Vannessa Tome, who made no mistake from close range to see it finish 6-0.
The Cascades' loss marked the end to their season, finishing with a 1-8-5 record from their 14 matches. UBC now look forward to another playoff campaign, which will get underway in two week's time with a home quarter-final against the winner of next week's play-in game between the 4
th v 5
th placed teams in the Prairie Division, the match up for which will be decided after Sunday's matches.Â
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