VANCOUVER – After recovering from their early season stumble, the UBC Thunderbirds will fight to make it two wins in a row over Albertan opposition as they face off against the Alberta Pandas at home on Thursday, September 18th.
It's a quick turnaround for the T-Birds after handily defeating the Calgary Dinos on the road this past weekend, which can potentially be a positive for keeping a good rhythm going but also adds some physical wear and tear for a team that already has a contingent of players they're currently working back from injury.
When it comes to how the team performed in Calgary, Thunderbirds head coach
Dean Murten was pleased overall in terms of how his group approached the match.
"I was a little disappointed with some fundamental errors in the first half," he said. "In the second half we made fewer errors and stuck to the way we wanted to play. It can sometimes be easy to go off script when you have a good lead."
Adia Pye, last year's Canada West scoring champion, certainly made her mark with four tries including three in the second half. She earned the Canada West Player of the Week award for her efforts, and will continue to be a focal point in the UBC attack.
On the side of the visitors, the Pandas are one of two undefeated Canada West teams at 1-0-1 (the other being the 3-0 Vikes). After a 29-17 opening weekend win over the Dinos and a 26-26 tie with Lethbridge, Alberta now makes their BC trip with a match against UBC on Thursday and Victoria on Sunday.
"We expect them to come to Vancouver and throw everything at us," stated Murten. "We need to be able to contain them for the first 30 to 40 mins. Then hopefully as the game opens up, we might find space for our speedy athletes."
SFU transfer Kaitlin Tetteh-Wayoe is the leading scorer for the Pandas so far this season with four tries, all of them scored in the opening match against the Dinos. The T-Birds have won seven straight meetings against the Edmonton-based side, dating back to 2018.
This matchup marks the halfway point of the Canada West regular season, before the Thunderbirds look to defend both their conference and national championships in the playoffs beginning in exactly one month.
That culminates with the 2025 CGIS U SPORTS Women's Rugby Championship, hosted by UBC from October 29th to November 2nd. Tournament passes are now on sale, and single day passes will be available beginning on Monday, September 29th.
CLICK HERE for tickets.
For this week, the T-Birds and Pandas take the field at 4:30 p.m. (PT) on Thursday, at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre.
