VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds won their 19th Canada West women's soccer championship at Thunderbird Stadium on Friday afternoon, but they were pushed all the way by the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack as they ran out 3-1 winners.
Bailey Doerksen set up
Jayda Thompson to open the scoring for the T-Birds, before Esi Lufo tied things up with a stunning free kick. Doerksen then got on the end of a quick passing move to send UBC in at the break with the lead.
Sienna Gibson sealed the deal for UBC in the second half, as they made it three straight Canada West crowns.
"For me, that was our game of the year so far," UBC head coach
Jesse Symons said after the match. "The passing, the combination, we really challenged our team to put in a full team effort. They found a way on a free kick to score for them, but full class and quality from our team today for the full 90 minutes."
UBC were on the front foot early and they got the early breakthrough 10 minutes in, with an almost carbon copy of their opening goal in the semi-final. This time it was Doerksen who was the provider, but the same player finishing the move off in Thompson.
Their lead was to last just seven minutes before Lufo blasted home a free kick from the edge of the box to tie things up.
UBC took back control of the game but had to wait until the 45th minute to get their lead back. It came from a quick piece of interplay as
Sienna Gibson found
Maddy Norman, who threaded the ball through for Doerksen to fire home the Thunderbirds' second.
Gibson secured the victory for UBC with a move she brilliantly started with a chip over two defenders and finished with a volley that gave Floor Ursem no chance.
Finishing with the game winning goal and an assist on Thompson's ice breaker, Doerksen was named Championship MVP.
The T-Birds will now await their U SPORTS quarter-final opponent as they open up the national championship tournament at home next Thursday, November 12.
Tickets for the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Soccer National Championhip are available
HERE!
