QUEBEC CITY – Entering the 2022 U SPORTS Women's Soccer National Championship as the number one seed, the UBC Thunderbirds begin the single elimination tournament against the host Université Laval Rouge et Or at 3:30 p.m. PT Thursday, November 10 at Stade Telus in historic Quebec City.
Last winning it all in 2019, the T-Birds not only have the drive to finish off a remarkable season on top, but they undoubtedly have the talent and depth in order to do so having just capped off an historic season with the program's 16
th Canada West title won on home soil against the Trinity Western Spartans just days ago.
"We've had a couple great days, we're excited, we're ready to go," said UBC Head Coach
Jesse Symons who is at his fourth national tournament with the 'Birds. "I think our focus has been spot on all season. Right from the get go the players understood what they wanted to do and were motivated to accomplish something together at another level. They accomplished that in season and I'm super proud of that. Getting through Canada West is not easy, it's an honour and a privilege to be Canada West champions. Now we got the next big one here and an opportunity to play the host team."
After a 13-1 regular season – tying the conference record for points and wins in a single year – perhaps the lone question mark for UBC was if they could get past Calgary come the Canada West Final Four as the Dinos were the only team to hand the 'Birds a loss in 2022. The answer came with a resounding 4-0 UBC win in the semifinals, a victory which punched the blue and gold's ticket to the conference title match, and a berth at the national championship.
It was fitting the T-Birds had to go through Calgary and their cross-town rival nemeses the TWU Spartans in order to secure their first Canada West banner since 2016. No two teams have faced UBC in more prominent meetings in recent years with the Dinos coming out on top in the 2019 conference gold medal match only to have the T-Birds flip the scrip with a 1-0 win over Calgary in the U SPORTS title game that year.
Both the Spartans and Dinos find themselves in Quebec City this week, but both on the other side of the championship bracket. The seventh seeded Dinos face the second ranked Université de Montréal Carabins while the sixth seed Spartans battle the Ottawa Gee Gees.
The Thunderbirds may very well face one of their Canada West rivals once more if both are fortunate enough to find themselves playing for a medal on Sunday. First off, the 'Birds need to focus on their quarter-final opponents and what is sure to be a charged atmosphere with a big crowd supporting the host Rouge et Or Thursday night, the same team that topped the T-Birds for bronze at the 2021 National Championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia and who also defeated UBC in the 2016 gold medal match.
"We expect a great atmosphere, every host game at these tournaments is electric," added Symons. "We've been in games before like that so we're ready to go. We have athletes that haven't just competed at the highest level in U SPORTS, but some have won national championships with club teams and provincial championships, they've played in big, big games. They're hungry to represent the school well and I know they'll put their best foot forward and we're looking forward to a great competition against Laval."
Kickoff for UBC's quarter-final battle with Laval is set for 3:30 p.m. PT on Thursday, November 10 at Quebec City's Stade Telus. The game will be available live on CBC Gem.
