VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-0-0) faced off against old foes Trinity Western Spartans (4-2-2) at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday evening, coming away with a 2-0 victory in what is always one of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the Canada West regular season.
UBC dominated the first half of play but had to wait until stoppage time for
Sophia Ferreira to head the home side in front before the break.
Maddy Norman added to the Thunderbirds' tally in the second half, keeping them perfect on the season and yet to concede a goal.
"The first half we were exceptional, I would love to watch that half back now," UBC head coach
Jesse Symons said after the match. "I think everyone should watch that half back because we were moving the ball, getting into great spaces, and unfortunate not to score.
Maddy Norman had an amazing half.
"The second half was just a scrap and a battle, I probably won't watch that half back apart from Maddy's goal. Overall, it was great to see."
UBC took the game to their visitors from the get-go, and Norman came within the width of the right post to giving the Thunderbirds the lead in the 18th minute after getting onto an excellent
Sophia Abiera pass.
Mansha Sidhu had the Spartans' best chance of the first half, whizzing a shot past the right post 10 minutes later, before Norman put a shot just past the post after doing well to round TWU goalkeeper Yasmine Pahal.
Ferreira fired one just wide in the 44th minute, but the centre back wasn't to be denied, and she rose superbly to head home a
Taiya Dennehy free kick a minute into first-half stoppage time.
It was a lead UBC weren't to give up, despite Trinity Western's strong start to the second half, and they doubled their advantage just past the hour mark when
Chloe Van Schalkwyk's through ball caused Danielle Cooper all sorts of problems, running through for Norman to bear down on goal and fire the ball past Pahal for her eighth of the season.
Van Schalkwyk almost grabbed a goal of her own in the 70th minute with a high cross-come-shot that had Pahal scrambling back to her goal line, but the TWU keeper managed to parry the ball away just in time.
The Spartans kept fighting without really troubling Thunderbirds' keeper
Marilena Spagnolo, with Sidhu's 70th-minute high effort one of their few shots and UBC comfortably saw out the match.
UBC wrap up a five-game home stand with a contest against the University of Victoria Vikes next Friday. Kickoff is 5:00 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium, and Symons has been happy with the play and depth of his team through these first eight matches, especially a number of the younger players.
"I can't give enough credit to
Felicia Hanisch," Symons said of the rookie midfielder. "What a player we have in our program as a first-year. She looked like the senior captain of our team already tonight. I'm so excited to see her growth already in the first few months with us. She has an exceptionally bright future ahead."
