VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds were made to work hard by a resolute MacEwan Griffins side in their Canada West women's soccer quarter-final matchup at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Maddy Norman's goal at the start of the second half was the difference between the two sides as UBC dominated the play but were denied time and time again by a strong defensive performance from MacEwan.
"We knew that they would come defend and stay low, and it was our job to break them down," UBC head coach
Jesse Symons said after the match. "It's hard in games to break down low blocks and numbers around their penalty box. I thought they blocked a lot of shots and were competing for their lives. Fortunately, we've got some very talented players."
"Sometimes there are sloppy goals that happen in those low blocks, but what a goal we scored with Sophia [Ferreira] to Maddy. Maybe one of the goals of the season with that tempo and speed. We can score in a bunch of ways, and I thought we were unlucky in some ways, with crosses and getting into the box a bit, but overall really proud of how we played and I thought defensively we were really sound today."
UBC carried the play throughout but found a MacEwan side that put their bodies on the line to block everything that the Thunderbirds were throwing at them.
The home side finally got their breakthrough two minutes into the second half with Norman finishing off a superb Ferreira cross in from the left.
The Thunderbirds continued to dominate the play, but couldn't find another way through, and the Griffins had a couple of half-chances without really testing the UBC defence.
UBC almost grabbed their second in the 81st minute when Norman streaked in on goal, laying the ball outside to
Bailey Doerksen, but the ball just ran away to too tight an angle and the chance went a-begging.
With all four quarter-finals going the way of the Pacific Division teams, UBC will now host next week's Canada West Final Four, with games scheduled for Thursday and Friday as they look to lift their third straight Conference banner.
"Hosting is something we were hoping to do," Symons said. "It shows the strength of our Pacific Division. Full credit to UVic last night and then Trinity and TRU today to get through. Now we get to battle teams we've battled all season. I'm expecting some great games. We're excited to host, and finishing first is a big objective of ours."
