VANCOUVER – Less than a full week removed from their home opening victory against Victoria, the UBC Thunderbirds are right back at it on Thursday, September 15^th at 4:00 p.m. when they play host to the University of Calgary (1-0).
 
"I was proud of our ability to score tries while implementing some patterns of play that we have been working on in training," said head coach Dean Murten when reassessing his team's effort from the weekend against Victoria.
 
Murten's crew jumped out to a 19-0 lead Saturday in their home opener against UVIC and managed to withstand a late first-half push by the Vikes en route to their 45-24 victory. Six different players supplied tries including the reigning Canada West player of the year Savannah Bauder who added four successful converts. Other tries came courtesy of: Mackenzie Carson, Rachel Smith, Tia Jordo, Olivia Sarabura and Sarah MacPherson.


 
As the T-Birds shift their focus to Calgary, Murten hopes that his team can build off their well-balanced attack from Saturday where veterans and first-year players alike contributed to the team's success. Last week he stressed the importance of the veterans setting a leadership tone, but the 2022 Thunderbirds are nowhere close to a finished product. He added, "A few of the senior players stepped up and did a great job of leading the way and making good decisions against Victoria. However we have to keep working on this."
 
The University of Calgary Dinos are also 1-0 having earned a 36-17 victory over the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns back on Friday, September 2^nd at home. Second-year fullback Delaney Aikens provided two second-half tries for Calgary who pose a legitimate challenge to the reigning Canada West champion Thunderbirds.
 
"Our team needs to work harder to stop the opposition from scoring," concluded Murten. "Calgary has a formidable pack of forwards and lots of speed in the backs that we'll need to be mindful of on Thursday."


 
UBC is looking to secure their fourth straight victory over Calgary dating back to October 20, 2019. Despite their current losing streak against UBC, the Dinos have an 8-4 lifetime road record against them dating back to 2009.
 
Thursday's match kicks off at 4:00 p.m. from the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre and can be seen LIVE on Canada West TV.