VANCOUVER – You'd be hard-pressed to find a more evenly fought game than this one.
In the first of four meetings this season between the two long-standing rivals, the UBC Thunderbirds and Victoria Vikes couldn't find separation in the 60 minutes of regular action, before UVic prevailed by a single tally in the bonus shootout.
"I thought we faced a lot of adversity, and that we pushed really well in the fourth quarter," said T-Birds head coach
Geoff Matthews. "Unfortunately, it wasn't our day today but we'll be back at it tomorrow."
UBC had the pressure on early, with
Sydney Le serving up a backhanded effort that was blocked by a Vikes defender in the first couple minutes. UVic then turned it up, with Neeve Unger playing a dangerous ball into the middle that forced a sprawling clearance from UBC keeper
Robyn Goh. The Vikes then earned a penalty corner which was again turned away by Goh.
The last chance of the opening frame was a
Thora Rae effort as she turned around her defender and chopped the ball towards goal from a tight angle, just missing along the far post.
Rae then opened the scoring early in the second, after a fantastic run by
Mikayla Stelling that drew several defenders towards her. Stelling then played the ball back across to Rae who fired it through traffic and through the legs of Anais Chace in the UVic goal.
The Vikes, determined to even up the score, started to control more of the offensive play at the quarter went along, earning back-to-back penalty corners. UBC backup goalie
Pascale Pottier made a great diving stop on the first, but after the ball deflected up into the air on the second, Molly Harris made a great play to reach up and bat the ball into the UBC net.
UVic's resolute defending was the theme of the third quarter, with the T-Birds earning multiple penalty corners but unable to fashion clearcut scoring chances from them. The Vikes' Amanda Adams had her team's best chance of the frame with a blast from the top of the shooting circle but it was straight at Goh.
Kenzie Girgis nearly found the go-ahead goal midway through the fourth, firing a shot off yet another UBC penalty corner that whistled so close to the near post that many in the home crowd began to cheer thinking it had gone in.
The barrage of UBC set plays continued as the clocked ticked down, and Chace came up big in the UVic goal with just a couple minutes remaining, hitting the deck to make a massive stop and preserve the tied score.
Deadlocked when the final whistle blew, the two teams went to a bonus shootout. While Girgis started things out strong for UBC with a clean finish on the first attempt, she was the only T-Bird to score. Julia Boraston and Ava Winter found the back of the net on the Vikes' second and third round shots, and that was enough.
"Just more clinical, more clinical in the final third," said Matthews, on what he hoped to see from his team tomorrow. "We want to be more ruthless inside the circle. And we can be a little more possession-based and not quite as direct."
That rematch is set for 11:00 a.m. (PT) at Wright Field, in yet another massive matchup between the two teams currently tied at the top of the Canada West standings.
SCORING SUMMARY
UBC –
Thora Rae, FG, 17', 1-0 UBC
VIC – Molly Harris, PC, 26', 1-1
GOALKEEPERS
UBC –
Robyn Goh, 30MP, 0GA
UBC –
Pascale Pottier, 30MP, 1GA
VIC – Anais Chace, 60MP, 1GA
CARDS
VIC – Ava Winter, GC, 28'
VIC – Neeve Unger, GC, 46'
SHOOTOUT
Rd 1:
Kenzie Girgis Goal, Josie Dunham No Goal – 1-0 UBC
Rd 2:
Sydney Le No Goal, Julia Boraston Goal – 1-1
Rd 3:
Thora Rae No Goal, Ava Winter Goal – 2-1 VIC
Rd 4:
Kaitlyn Pennefather No Goal, Sadie Lee No Goal – 2-1 VIC
Rd 5:
Prabnoor Hundal No Goal – 2-1 VIC
