CALGARY – It was a successful first conference outing for the T-Birds in Alberta, as they jumped out in front early and never relinquished the lead in a 4-1 win over the Calgary Dinos.
A balanced offensive attack saw four different players find the back of the net for UBC, two of whom scored their first career Canada West goals.
That wasn't the case for the opener, as fifth-year forward Riley Brown struck just six minutes into the game to put the T-Birds in front. The 1-0 scoreline remained in place for the rest of the half, with the Thunderbirds having a potential goal called back late in the first quarter due to a foul to keep things tight.
That changed in the second half, however, with a pair of goals within the first five minutes of the third quarter. Sydney Le grabbed the first, scoring the 13th goal of her UBC career in just her 16th game wearing the blue and gold. On the other end of the spectrum, first-year Amy Stelling then marked her UBC debut with a goal of her own, helping mark the wave of new talent throughout the T-Birds' lineup.
In all, this game featured six players making their first career U SPORTS appearance, four of them as starters including Kaelen Uy in goal who split time with veteran Robyn Goh. That list of debutants doesn't even include fifth-year Harnoor Malhi who started in defence in her first Canada West game after transferring from the University of Toronto.
While Nina Khalfan got a goal back for the Dinos in the fourth quarter, defender Sukhman Hundal immediately responded with her first career goal off a penalty corner just a minute later.
After a strong first result, the Thunderbirds will aim to make it two wins in two on Sunday afternoon, in a rematch against Calgary.
SCORING SUMMARY
UBC – Riley Brown, FG, 6', 1-0 UBC
UBC – Sydney Le, FG, 32', 2-0 UBC
UBC – Amy Stelling, FG, 34', 3-0 UBC
CGY – Nina Khalfan, PC, 50', 3-1 UBC
UBC – Sukhman Hundal, PC, 51', 4-1 UBC
GOALKEEPERS
CGY - Madison Forest, 60MP, 4GA
UBC – Robyn Goh, 30 MP, 1GA
UBC – Kaelen Uy, 30 MP, 0GA
CARDS
UBC - Amy Stelling, GC, 25'
