VANCOUVER – The top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (7-0-0) are returning home from Manitoba with two more victories in their back pocket. Less than 24 hours removed from a dramatic 2-1 victory Saturday against the University of Manitoba, Jesse Symons' club came flying out of the gates Sunday and never looked back en route to a 5-0 victory over the University of Winnipeg (0-5-0). Leading the charge for UBC was Danielle Steer with two goals and an assist while goalkeeper Dakota Beckett earned her first career Canada West victory and clean sheet with a two save effort.
 
"It was important for us to start better today," said head coach Jesse Symons. "We didn't execute yesterday. We had good chances yesterday that we chose not to finish. I thought we did that to start the game today which put us on the front foot. Credit to our team to find some goals early which allowed us to manage the game."
 
In just the second minute of the match, third-year midfielder Nisa Reehal converted off an assist from Sophia Ferreira. For Reehal it marked her fourth goal of the Canada West campaign and set the tone for a dominant first half UBC attack that featured nine shot attempts, five corner kicks and two additional goals.


 
In the 13^th minute, Danielle Steer's pursuit of the all-time goal total in Canada West inched closer when she bounced a header past Winnipeg goalkeeper Taryn Raabe from inside the box, stemming from an Emma Hooten corner kick. Hooten's kick first hit Ellla Sunde who deflected the ball to Steer who did the rest. For Steer it marked her sixth goal of the season, and 38^th career marker in Canada West which temporarily tied her for fourth on the all-time list.
 
With time winding down in the first half, Ella Sunde scored a memorable first-career U Sports goal off a right-wing blast from the top of the penalty area. Sunde's shot went off the post and in to give UBC a 3-0 lead. Ella Nuttall-Smith provided the assist.

In the 54^th minute Danielle Steer snagged sole possession of fourth on the all-time Canada West goal list when she once again converted on a header created from a UBC corner kick. This time it was Aislin Smith who placed her corner kick perfectly into the penalty area for Steer to convert on.
 
Steer finished the match with three shots, the third of which came later in the second half in close off an un-selfish feed from first-year teammate Jayda Thompson. But full credit to Winnipeg goalkeeper Madison Priebe who turned aside Steer's attempt for one of her six second half saves.
 
The final point of the match for Steer came in the 90^th minute when she set up Jade Taylor-Ryan for her second goal of the season. The fifth-year forward is now tied for the team-lead in points with 10 (7G, 3A) and puts her six points shy of a tie for first all-time points in Canada West play.

The blue and gold finished the match with a 22-4 edge in shots and did not yield a single corner kick against. With each passing victory, Jesse Symons knows that his troops are going to continue to face the very best from each opponent.


 
Symons added, "We're getting there as far as our own play and identity, but there's still lots of room to grow as we arrive at the second half of the season. Each team we've played has given us some unique challenges to deal with and fortunately we've been on the right side of those results. Hopefully that can continue."
 
Next weekend the T-Birds are back on the road for two more tough contests. On Friday, September 23^rd they'll clash with the UNBC Timberwolves in Prince George before heading to Calgary for a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Dinos.
 
Both games next weekend can be seen live on Canada West TV.