The new-look UBC Thunderbirds open their 2024 Canada West season this weekend, with a revamped roster including five new players and a new head coach.
 
Geoff Matthews is now at the helm of the women's field hockey program, hoping to use his vast wealth of coaching experience to bring the T-Birds back to the national stage. Matthews has previously served as head coach of the Canadian U21 Men's National Team, assistant coach for the Senior Men's National Team, and Technical Director for the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club. He's excited about the impact this year's recruiting class will have in his own first year at UBC.
 
"Our incoming group, which includes four U18 National Champions and one U21 Women's National Team player, will support our experienced existing roster in our goal to re-establish the winning culture within our program," said Matthews. "The program now boasts an incredible depth in each position…I am excited by the style of play that we will bring to Canada West."
 
The U21 WNT player in question is Shannon Stelling, who represented Canada at the Junior Pan American Championship this past summer. The midfielder from Vancouver's Little Flower Academy plans to pursue a degree in Kinesiology at UBC. She's excited to play alongside her sister, fourth year midfielder Mikayla Stelling.
 
"Playing with my sister as a Thunderbird had always been a goal of mine, and hopefully helping the team win a U SPORTS Championship," said Stelling. "The beautiful campus was also a reason I chose to study at UBC."


 
North Vancouver native Sydney Le joins the T-Birds after a fantastic senior season at Handsworth Secondary, where she scored 35 goals in 18 games, including the winning goal in the AAA Provincial Championship Final. She also led Team BC Blue to a gold medal at this summer's U18 National Championships, where she scored 10 goals in five games to earn both the Top Scorer and Tournament MVP awards.
 
"The most appealing aspect of studying at UBC and competing as a Thunderbird was the opportunity to engage in top-tier academics and athletics within a welcoming community," said Le.


 
Prabnoor Hundal is a forward from White Rock. She played for Semiahmoo Secondary and Tigers Field Hockey Club, and was on Team BC Blue with Le at the 2024 U18 Nationals. She maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school and plans to study either biochemistry or microbiology at UBC. The combination of high-level academics and athletics is what drew her to becoming a T-Bird.
 
"I chose to study and compete at UBC as I felt becoming a Thunderbird would challenge me as a student-athlete and I would be able to strive for greatness," said Hundal. "There is such a sense of community amongst the program, and playing alongside such amazing teammates will ultimately make me better."


 
Rounding out the class are two defenders from the Lower Mainland, Wynn Brown and Sukhman Hundal (no relation to Prabnoor). Brown and Hundal were both also junior national champions with Team BC Blue this past summer.
 
The Vancouver-born Brown is an offensive-minded outside defender, and one of the eight UBC players who have been identified for the U23 Field Hockey Canada Japan Tour. Hundal, meanwhile, hails from Surrey and is described by Matthews as a commanding central defender who is a threat on penalty corners.
 
The T-Birds play their first two games of the Canada West season on September 14^th and 15^th, on the road against the Calgary Dinos. Both games begin at 10:00 a.m. (PT). The Dinos are currently 0-2, after losing twice at home to Victoria to begin their campaign. The Thunderbirds ended last season with a record of 3-4-1, second place in the three-team Canada West standings.
 
UBC is on the road for their first four games of this year, travelling first to Calgary before heading to Victoria to face the Vikes twice next weekend. They then play their home opener against the Dinos on September 28^th, at 11:00 a.m. (PT) at Wright Field. That's the start of four games in a row at home to end the regular season.