VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (5-0) continued their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant 4-0 victory over the visiting UBCO Heat (0-3) at Ken Woods Field on Friday evening.
First-half strikes from
Nina Rhode and
Jayda Thompson had UBC two goals ahead at the half against a spirited Heat side that went toe to toe with the defending Canada West champs.
Sophie Harrison made it three for UBC four minutes after the restart, before Thompson rounded off the scoring with her second of the game in the 69th minute.
After four games on the road, it was the Thunderbirds' first home match of the season and head coach
Jesse Symons was delighted by the all-round team performance against a tough opponent.
"They passed the ball well, they played well, they got numbers around the ball, and you have to think and scan, and I thought we did that very well today," Symons said after the match. "Overall we pressed very well and there was some good urgency.
"
Jayda Thompson had a come-out game. She's been very close, but today she really showcased her quality, and the rest of her team really came after it today, which was great."
The opening exchanges saw both teams attack, without testing either goalkeeper, but UBC got the breakthrough in the 14th minute when
Maddy Norman knocked down a free kick for Rhode to fire home from close range.
Caitlyn Chiu responded with a shot that just whipped past the left post in the 21st minute, before Rhode almost grabbed a second five minutes later, but her curling effort crashed off the bar.
The Thunderbirds doubled their lead in the 34th minute when Thompson showed fantastic footwork in the box, playing a neat one-two with
Bailey Doerksen, and tucked the ball past Allyson Ford.
UBC extended their lead four minutes into the second half, with Thompson turning provider this time, setting the ball up for Harrison to blast home the Thunderbirds' third.
Thompson showed more great footwork in the box in the 69th minute, getting onto a long ball forward from Sabrina Carreira and rounding Heat keeper Allyson Ford to tuck away UBC's fourth and close out the scoring.
Yet to concede a goal this year, the Thunderbirds now look to extend their unbeaten start to the season against the University of Victoria Vikes at Thunderbirds Stadium on Saturday evening, with kick-off set for 5:00 p.m.
