VANCOUVER, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds (7-0-0) stayed perfect on the season with a hard-fought 3-0 victory over a well-organized University of Fraser Valley Cascades (2-3-2) at a wet Thunderbird Stadium on Friday evening.
After a scoreless first half, second-half goals from
Maddy Norman,
Ella Santarsieri, and Sabrina Carreira saw UBC reach the halfway point of the Canada West regular season with seven straight wins and seven clean sheets as they continue to prepare for hosting this year's U SPORTS nationals in November in formidable form.
"I thought the field was really slick today, so we had to learn that a little bit," UBC head coach
Jesse Symons said after the match. "They're a very organized team. Last time we played them we obviously scored early goals and today we had to work a little bit and didn't find our couple of chances.
"Overall, I think you have to look at our second-half chances for who we were, and the performances by our game changers today."
UBC dominated the first-half possession, but goalscoring opportunities were sparse, with the UFV defence doing well at handling the dangerous Thunderbirds' attack.
Nina Rhode had the ball in the net for the home side in the 22nd minute, finishing off an excellent
Taiya Dennehy cross, but the flag went up for offside.
UFV were the only team to register any first-half shots on target, with Kiana Langston's long ranger with 10 minutes of the half remaining as their only real test of UBC goalkeeper
Emma Sparrow.
Symons made a trio of substitutions at the half, and it brought an immediate spark to his side's attack after the restart.
Sophie Harrison blasted over from close range in the 46th minute, before Alana Madec turned away a Santarsieri shot minutes later.
The breakthrough came in the 58th minute when Norman rose well to head home a Santarsieri corner for her 7th goal in as many matches, and after that there was no looking back for UBC.
Santarsieri blasted home a beauty from just outside the box in the 65th minute to double the Thunderbirds' lead, and Carreira sealed the deal with three minutes remaining, tucking away a rebound after a save from Madec fell to her in the six-yard box.
UBC now haven't lost a Canada West regular season match since October 2023, and they will look to add to that against old rivals Trinity Western Spartans at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday evening (kick-off is 6:00 p.m.). Fraser Valley will now head into the interior for a clash with Thompson Rivers Wolfpack in Kamloops on Saturday.
