They left it until late, but the UBC Thunderbirds came through in crunch time with a second half winner, beating the UBC Okanagan Heat 1-0 on the road.

The T-Birds were able to consistently create chances throughout the night, outshooting the Heat 17-3 (10-1 on target), but finding a breakthrough remained elusive for much of the game. It was a spirited performance by the hosts, especially from goalkeeper Talia Gagnon, who made nine saves, as they kept this battle close.

The best chance of the first half came to Vanessa Tome, who was played through on a partial breakaway by Bailey Doerksen in the 27th minute. Pressured by a UBCO defender, the skillful forward was a bit rushed on her shot, which was parried away by Gagnon.

The game was deadlocked at the break, the first time in six games that the T-Birds failed to find the back of the net in the first half.



Jade Taylor-Ryan nearly opened the scoring in the first few moments of the second half, but couldn't find the back of the net with her shot from the edge of the box. It was the first of twelve shot attempts the 'Birds racked up in the final 45 minutes.

Despite all that pressure, the home team nearly stole a goal of their own, following a quick break down the right flank. The ball was lofted into the middle but the header from the Heat forward rang off the post, sending a clear warning shot to the Thunderbirds.

Looking to keep the momentum on their side, Doerksen again played provider in the 77th. She sent a beautifully weighted pass between the centre-backs to Nisa Reehal, who was in alone. Again though, Gagnon came up with the save, and one could be forgiven for thinking she simply might not be beaten on the night.

However, as they so often do, the T-Birds found a way. Right as the clock ticked to 80 minutes, Doerksen put yet another tantalizing ball into the box, this time aimed at Sienna Gibson. The rookie was unable to direct her attempt towards goal, but the ball bounced through to the feet of Reehal, who promptly slammed it home.

"I'm really proud of the team to find a goal in the last 15 minutes after so many close chances that didn't fall our way," said UBC head coach Jesse Symons. "To keep them to only one shot on target was excellent tonight and if we had the ability to focus on our final moment it would have been a strong performance. Our back four has been so strong and have two rookies in Zoelle (Apps) and Olivia (Gomez) really play well again is exceptional for our team and depth. Finally, it was satisfying to see Nisa find her first goal of the season tonight and I'm hoping to see her really start to get around goal more."

The dominant Thunderbirds defense was able to close out the game from there, and UBC now heads home with a record of 8-0, standing alone as the only undefeated team in Canada West.

Next up is a home clash with the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday, October 4th. That game begins at 5:00 p.m. (PT) at Thunderbird Stadium and can be seen on canadawest.tv.