VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-0-0) will hope to extend their winning streak to double digits to start the season, as they gear up for a pair of home-and-away contests this weekend.
Kicking off the two-game set, the 'Birds will take on the University of Victoria Vikes (0-1-4) on Friday, October 2, on the Point Grey campus before travelling to Prince George on Sunday, October 4, for more action against the UNBC Timberwolves (0-6-0).
These will be familiar matchups for UBC as they have already suited up against both squads this season. The T-Birds made the nine-hour road trip up north to take on the T-Wolves for the fourth game of this campaign and, through a well-balanced attack across the entire 90 minutes, the 'Birds soared to a 5-0 win.
Similarly, UBC has already battled with the UVic Vikes, but their provincial rival posed a sizable test early as they held the blue and gold scoreless throughout the first half for the first time this campaign. However, the latter 45 minutes saw goals from
Bailey Doerksen and
Maddy Norman, respectively, to lift their side to a 2-0 win.
Norman has continued to emerge as a focal point of UBC's offence and has seemingly only improved as the season motors on. Last year, the forward dressed in 18 games, starting 13 of them, and tallied eight goals and four assists. This season, the Surrey-native has already hit those numbers in just eight games; starting in each, Norman has played in 713 of her 720 possible minutes and has racked up eight goals while already surpassing last year's assist tally with five. However, as impressive as these stats are, head coach Symons believes Norman brings more to the table than just offence.
"[Norman] is a complete player for us, both in and out of possession," mused UBC head coach
Jesse Symons. "Her ability to press and control the line at the front has allowed her to be very successful, and she's being rewarded on the scoresheet."
Norman is not the sole 'Bird to reach new heights, as third-year midfielder
Sienna Gibson has recently returned to the UBC pitch after donning the red and white for Team Canada at the U-20 World Cup in Poland this past month. There, she helped her nation reach the quarterfinal stage, but ultimately fell to DPR Korea, a team that went on to the final and snagged the tournament's silver medal after a loss in penalties to Spain.
After already getting plenty of minutes in UBC's last game against TWU, Coach Symons is eager to see what Gibson has gained from adding to her extensive international resume while seeing what's in store going forward for his rising midfielder.
"[Gibson] is such a spark on and off the field for the team. Her experience and mindset to compete is contagious and pushes the whole team to get to another level. We were so proud of her to represent Canada at the U-20 World Cup and compete and play in the knockout stage matches."
Now past the midway point of the Canada West campaign, the T-Birds have held the top spot in the U SPORTS national rankings since the preseason. Amid the squad's 8-0 start to the year, the 'Birds boast eye-opening stats as a team. Heading into this weekend, the blue and gold are averaging 3.25 goals per game while posting an equally ridiculous average of 19 shots per game.
On paper, recording 19 shots a game could be read in various ways, but after a closer look, they aren't simply going for a rapid-fire approach – they're taking a calculated one, as nearly 50 percent of the team's shots find the net. This efficient, methodical offence has yielded tremendous results so far for his club, but coach Symons remains focused on improving game after game to finish strong as the program is playing host to the National tournament at the end of the season.
"It has been great knowing we are hosting Nationals, but a big focus was to earn our way in, and the personality of the team in each match has been so impressive. The identity with the players coming back, with Sophia [Ferreira] and Bailey [Doerksen] and then our incoming first-years, has really influenced the team.
Felicia Hanisch has been one to watch as a rookie this season, dictating the midfield in most of our matches, and I am excited to see her compete in the second half of the season."
The road to Nationals continues this Friday, October 2, as the T-Birds take on the University of Victoria Vikes at 5:00 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium. After a day off, they'll then make the jaunt up north to close out the weekend with another match against the UNBC Timberwolves on Sunday, October 4, at 2:30 p.m.
