VICTORIA – The Thunderbirds entered Saturday morning knowing that they needed a win to keep their hopes of a Canada West title alive. The result? A 3-0 victory on the road in Victoria, the program's biggest margin of victory over the Vikes since 2017.
The T-Birds struck early in the first quarter, with
Sydney Le capping an early offensive possession by beating the Vikes' keeper low stick side. Her goal in the 3rd minute pushed the Thunderbirds out to the crucial lead.
As time wound down in the first quarter, the Thunderbirds earned a penalty corner in the 14th minute. The ball was passed out to Le who blasted a shot towards the net, which was deflected by
Mikayla Stelling, fooling the Vikes defence and keeper for the Thunderbirds' second of the game.
The dominant first half continued in the second quarter, and the T-Birds' scored another goal off a deflection in the 27th minute. This time it was Le tipping a shot from
Thora Rae into the net for her second of the game.
Down 3-0, the Vikes came out stronger in the third quarter which consisted predominantly of UVic attacks. Their attempts were blocked or cleared by the Thunderbirds' defenders to keep the lead intact.
The fourth quarter was filled with more chances for the home team but the Thunderbirds remained resolute even against multiple penalty corner opportunities, earning the clean sheet.
With the win, the blue and gold improve to 4-1-2 while the Vikes suffered their first loss of the season and now stand at 5-1-1.
The two squads will face off again tomorrow, at 11:00 a.m. (PT) on Lynne "Buzz'" Beecroft Field. For the second year in a row the Canada West Championship will be decided on the final day of the season, with the Thunderbirds needing another win to claim their first title in eight years. A tie or UVic victory will ensure that the trophy remains on the island for another year.
SCORING SUMMARY
UBC –
Sydney Le, FG, 3', 1-0 UBC
UBC –
Mikayla Stelling, PC, 14', 2-0 UBC
UBC –
Sydney Le, FG, 27', 3-0 UBC
GOALKEEPERS
VIC - Anais Chace, 60M, 3GA
UBC –
Pascale Pottier, 30M, 0 GA
UBC –
Robyn Goh, 30M, 0 GA
CARDS
VIC – Maddie Hunter, GC, 23'
VIC – Amanda Adams GC, 27'
UBC –
Shyana Ringma, GC, 43'
