VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (5-0-1) blanked the University of Calgary Dinos (0-8) 5-0 at Wright Field on Sunday afternoon, pulling away late to complete the weekend sweep.  

Sukhman Hundal tallied her team-leading fourth of the year to cap a two-goal second quarter, while a pair of penalty strokes from Kenzie Girgis in the second half lifted the T-Birds to their second straight clean sheet.

"Sukman's been incredible. Four goals from penalty corners; she's such a huge weapon there for us. A really strong and very deceptive hit today, so really happy with that," mused head coach Geoff Matthews after the win. "In defence, she brings a calmness to the team; she's very diligent defensively, with her roles and responsibilities. Good in possession, but just has a very calm demeanour."



The 'Birds controlled possession in the early going, but the Dinos' defence held firm to keep things scoreless by the end of the opening frame.

After fending off some Dinos' pressure to start the second, the scoring breakthrough came for the 'Birds shortly after the 20-minute mark. UBC slowly worked their way up the pitch and as they entered the circle, a series of in-tight passes created space for Puneet Litt, who buried it to hand her side the lead.

The T-Birds doubled their advantage as the quarter neared its end. Out of a penalty corner, the incoming pass was settled perfectly for Hundal to wind up and fire home the defender's fourth of the campaign just before the break.

Midway through the third, UBC captain Riley Brown hustled to force a turnover in the Dinos' half but was tripped deep in the circle, handing the Birds a penalty stroke chance. Girgis stepped up to the dot and rifled one near the top left corner for the tally.



After Mackenna Brown found the back of the net to start the fourth, the T-Birds still weren't finished offensively. A hard foul by the Dinos' keeper handed the blue and gold their second penalty stroke of the half. Girgis entered the circle once again and wired it home to tack on another for the 'Birds, rounding out the 5-0 win to mark UBC's seventh straight contest without a loss.

The T-Birds will remain on the Point Grey campus for their final two games of the Canada West campaign, as they welcome the University of Victoria Vikes to Wright Field with the top spot in the conference on the line. The series opener begins on Saturday, October 24, at 11:00 a.m.

"We love playing against UVic, those games are always close," added coach Matthews. "We need, essentially, one more win for us to wrap things up, and it's been a long time since UBC has won Canada West. We've got one hand on the trophy, but we're not there yet. We'll just focus on the first game on Saturday, get the best result we can, and then we'll go from there."

SCORING SUMMARY
UBC – Puneet Litt 24', FG, UBC 1-0
UBC – Sukhman Hundal 30', PC, UBC 2-0
UBC – Kenzie Girgis 41', PS, UBC 3-0
UBC – Mackenna Brown 48', FG, UBC 4-0
UBC – Kenzie Girgis 58', PS, UBC 5-0
 
GOALKEEPERS
CGY – Madison Forest, 58 MP,  4 GA
CGY – Micaela Camacho, 2 MP,  1 GA
UBC – Pascale Pottier, 30MP, 0 GA
UBC – Robyn Goh, 30MP, 0 GA
 
CARDS
UBC – Claire Cheng, GC, 17'
CGY – Allegra Nelson, GC, 38'
UBC – Mackenna Brown, GC, 50'
CGY – Madison Forest, YC, 58'
UBC – Mackenna Brown, YC, 60'