VANCOUVER, B.C. - It was the battle of the unbeaten at Ken Woods Field in Vancouver on Friday night as divisional leaders UBC Thunderbirds and MacEwan Griffins met in Canada West women's soccer action. But it was the hosting Thunderbirds that came out of the match as the only unbeaten side remaining in the conference after a pair of second half goals saw UBC claim a big victory.

The game certainly had playoff vibes to it, and after a closely contested first half, UBC turned up the heat the second as an opener from Sarah Rollins and a penalty from Ella Sunde saw the Thunderbirds come out victorious.



"We talked at half time," UBC head coach said after the game. "We had a couple of clear cut chances in behind and we didn't finish and those are chances in the first half that we said that we need to reward our team. We need to reward our team for attacking and getting forward and those moments are important in playoff games because if you get up one the other team is chasing you.

"We've done a really good job responding in second halves and scoring a lot of goals in second halves and full credit in the end, we had control and the team played really well."

MacEwan made the livelier start and had UBC on the back foot at times in the early going but the Thunderbirds started to take control and had the best chances to break the deadlock in the first half.

Sophie Damian had the ball in the net for UBC five minutes in, but the flag was up quickly for offside.

Nisa Reehal brought a big save out of Griffins goalkeeper Bianca Castillo in the 27^th minute after twisting and turning free in the box and getting a shot off at close range.

MacEwan were doing well at containing UBC leading scorer Katalin Tolnai, who had one long range dipping effort through the first 45 minutes.

Reehal should have given the Thunderbirds the lead three minutes before the break after being played in in front of goal by Taiya Dennehy, but she stumbled at the wrong moment and couldn't fully connect on the chance and the ball ran into the arms of Castillo.
 

WSOC | At the half, @ubcwsoc is tied with @GriffinsSoccer at 0. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/8RUexfxtAP

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) September 23, 2023

MacEwan finished the half stronger and their pressing game and energy had them confident they could get the breakthrough after halftime.

It was a cagey start to the second half but UBC finally broke the deadlock two minutes before the hour mark when Emma Hooten sent a dangerous inswinging corner into the six yard box and Rollins rose above everyone to head home the opener.

MacEwan responded well and Grace Schimpf had a look on goal in the 62^nd minute but they found themselves two behind six minutes later.

Abbey Wright sent Nisa Reehal crashing to the ground in the box and Sunde stepped up to drill home the penalty

Reehal nearly added one herself three minutes later but Castillo came up with another big save.

MacEwan pushed to get back into the match and Hannah Harper fired over in the 81^st minute.



Tolnai nearly put the icing on the cake in stoppage time but Castillo came up strong again, and UBC had to be content with a two goal victory that will give them a huge confidence boost heading into the second half of the season and the playoffs.

"It's really big," Symons admitted. "We want to play these teams and create some chances tonight. I thought we managed their attacks very well and what can you say about Sarah Rollins? First year player, game winning goal, second of the season now. She's improving in all aspects of the game and wants to get better. She's been a great addition for us at the back."

UBC are back in action at Ken Woods Field on Sunday afternoon when they host the University of Alberta Pandas (kick off 1.00pm). MacEwan stay in BC, heading north to Prince George to take in the UNBC Timberwolves on Sunday.