The Thunderbirds are beginning the 2026–27 season, another year of high expectations surrounding UBC's many dominant varsity programs.
UBC Women’s Soccer holds nine national titles and 18 Canada West banners, and that standard will remain the same as always: keep winning, year after year.
In recent seasons, the team has become an even stronger force on the field. Ranked No. 1 in Canada West and U Sports, they are known as a program that’s prepared to compete, and are consistently one of the country's strongest attacking teams. In the 2025–26 season, they scored a total of 42 goals, leading both Canada West and U Sports.
Despite being a dominant offensive team, their identity in the past few years — particularly in the last season — has been rooted in the strength of their defensive line and mindset. Last season, nearly impenetrable defence carried the T-Birds through a historic undefeated regular season in which they conceded zero goals. Their defensive line became the anchor of another successful campaign, including a Canada West title.
At the U Sports national tournament, UBC arrived ready to face the top teams in the country. They were first tested in a close quarterfinals game that went into overtime, followed by a fierce comeback in the semifinals after falling behind 2–0 early on.
For the first time that year, their defence wasn't enough. They allowed five goals in the last three games of the season. Instead, their offence had to carry more of the weight — and it did. Through a full team effort — paired with standout performances by Sienna Gibson and Jayda Thompson, who both scored game-winning goals — UBC was back to the finals for the third year in a row, one win away from a potential unprecedented three-peat.
They faced the Université de Montréal Carabins, the team that won the championship just before the T-Birds’ back-to-back run. It was a tough game and the weather made it tougher. Playing through a snowy blizzard against a team accustomed to those conditions, the Thunderbirds fell behind 2–0. Although UBC dug in and fought for a comeback, it wasn’t enough to prevent their 2–1 fall to the Carabins.
The Thunderbirds' defence was a defining strength of their historic 2025–26 regular season, when they conceded zero goals.
Even without a new title to add to the collection, the T-Birds undoubtedly had a great season — but it wasn't the way they wanted their year to end. For head coach Jesse Symons, the program's expectations are clear. “It's honestly about winning championships in our program,” he said. “We don't hide that.”
Still, the final result of the 2025–26 season gave them something else to carry into the new year — a loss, the first in 42 games.
No team can remain undefeated forever, and sometimes a setback can give a successful team something new to chase. This season, the Thunderbirds have a rare sense of unfinished business as they look to return to the national title game.
“It's important for us to have the mindset that no matter who's in front of us, [we have] to push through, that we're gonna get the ball in the back of the net and we're gonna get a result,” said co-captain and fifth-year midfielder Taiya Dennehy.
A national title would be even sweeter this season, as UBC will be host this year's U Sports national tournament. “It's a dream seeing the programs that have hosted at UBC in the past few years, and the support and electricity that comes with hosting at home,” said Symons. “We're going to definitely make the most of the opportunity.”
The 2026 co-captains Sophia Ferreira and Dennehy are equally excited about the opportunity to compete for a championship at home. “[Hosting is] very exciting for us, and to end my career off like that — hosting nationals — that's very exciting for me as well,” said Dennehy.
Ferreira shares a similar feeling. After years of success and work, she said having the tournament come to UBC will give the team an opportunity to share the experience with the people closest to them. “For it to come home, and [to] be able to have our family and friends all be there, will be like nothing we've had before,” she said.
Even though hosting means they automatically qualify for nationals, there is a long way to go before the top eight teams in U Sports compete for ultimate glory at UBC. Their standards remain high, but they know the importance of focusing on one game at a time, as this will ensure they are constantly setting themselves up for success at every turn.
“We are in the national final, but that doesn't mean anything's given to us,” said Dennehy. “We have very high standards for ourselves, and I think that's very important.”
Every game in the regular season counts toward earning the strongest possible position for the Canada West playoffs. From there, the goal is to win the last three Canada West playoff games — not only to increase their record, but to arrive at nationals on their own merit and earn a higher seed.
“As a team, we know each piece of the season builds to nationals,” said Ferreira. “[We want to] make it the easiest path that we can, and that's exactly what we've done the last three years.”
“Our objective is to prove that we belong there as a program,” said Symons. “Every year is a new year, so it's about showcasing the group we have this year to really solidify our place in Canada West, leading to nationals.”
UBC Thunderbirds head coach Jesse Symons looks ahead to the 2026–27 season as the T-Birds prepare to chase another Canada West and U Sports championship.
For the T-Birds, that process starts all the way in pre-season.
This year, UBC had a unique opportunity to prepare by going overseas. They headed to Spain and Portugal to play a total of four games and encountered numerous teams with different styles. Symons explained that the trip was designed to bring the group together while challenging them against unfamiliar approaches at a high level. “We held ourselves up at a very high standard, and our program competed and played at a level that is expected,” he said.
This experience was particularly valuable for the Thunderbirds because although they face familiar opponents every year, teams make changes to their roster each season. New challenges are necessary for the team to improve. Ferreira said the team looked for ways to take elements from those different styles of play and incorporate them into its own approach. “We always tried to reflect on how we can bring that … style of play to our own team, and how can we build that into what we already have,” she said.
The ‘Birds have their own version of a new-look roster this year with some exciting additions — and some important returning faces. Most notably, co-captain Ferreira is in the process of an incredible comeback.
In the 2024 season, Ferreira helped lead the way to the T-Birds’ second consecutive national championship title, even scoring the lone goal in the final match against the Université Laval Rouge-et-Or. Unfortunately, during the 2025 pre-season, Ferreira suffered an ACL tear and missed out on her presumed last year as a Thunderbird.
But Ferreira didn't let the injury be the end of her story. Faced with one of the most difficult injuries an athlete can experience, Ferreira knew she could not change what had happened — but she could control how she responded. Ferreira focused all her energy on healing and supporting her teammates from the sidelines last season. Now, in her actual last year as a T-Bird, she has found a new appreciation for being on the pitch.
“I honestly just want to go out and give everything that I can to this team, because they've given me a lot … too,” she said. “I would not be the same person or player that I am without the Thunderbird family and especially our team.”
Dennehy has played alongside Ferreira for the last five years and has watched that dedication firsthand. She admires Ferreira's mindset and commitment to the game. “She’s such a beast on the field … I just want to follow in her footsteps,” Dennehy said.
The Thunderbirds enter the 2026–27 season with unfinished business, a deep roster and the opportunity to compete for a national championship on home turf.
Another familiar face returning to the Thunderbirds is the young forward star Bailey Doerksen. After an incredible second year in which she became one of the T-Birds' most dangerous attackers, recording 10 goals and 10 assists, Doerksen also suffered an injury and missed the entire 2025 season. Like Ferreira, Doerksen returned for UBC’s first matchup last weekend, and the T-Birds are glad to see her return — especially after she emerged as one of the team's top scorers during the pre-season.
But familiar faces aren’t the only additions to this season's roster. Rather than focusing on a player's year or experience level, UBC prioritizes whether a player can provide what the team needs at a given moment. That approach allows younger players to excel alongside more experienced veterans. With this skill- and team-based philosophy, fans can expect to see plenty of rotation as Symons continues to determine the starting 11.
“If you're on the field and performing, it's a privilege to play for UBC,” Symons said. “Every day in the training environment and in the league … players are pushing, knowing that they've got that match on Nov. 12 circled, and if they want to be that starting 11, they're gonna be establishing themselves throughout the Canada West season.”
One position that may rotate regularly is the goalkeeper. Last year, senior Dakota Beckett was one of the main reasons for UBC's historic unbeaten regular season. But even with Beckett gone, Symons is not worried about who will fill the position, as the depth of the T-Birds’ roster extends to the net. Emma Sparrow is one of the potential keeper starters, alongside Marilena Spagnolo, who earned three Ontario University Athletics all-star selections and spent time playing professionally in Europe.
With Dakota Beckett gone, UBC's goalkeeping depth will give the Thunderbirds several options as they search for their next regular starter.
This year, the Thunderbirds have six new recruits joining the total roster. While it is their first season as T-Birds, they arrive with experience at high levels of the game. Rookie midfielder Felicia Hanisch participated in the U-17 World Cup and gained experience in the Northern Super League with the Ottawa Rapids. Incoming rookie forward Shaden Al-Asad competed with the Calgary Wild.
The T-Birds have also added some more depth to their attack with Mia Sieminski and Isobel Bentley, both of whom made an immediate impression by scoring during the pre-season. UBC can now also boast an NCAA Division 1 transfer, with forward Nina Rhode joining the team.
“To have mature leaders that have lived it and done it, along with the young players, is pretty exciting,” said Symons.
Still, the Thunderbirds will be without their star midfielder Sienna Gibson to start the season, as she represents Canada at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, expected to return on Sept. 27.
There were plenty of leaders to choose from. But for Symons, the choice of who would have the honour to captain the 2026 squad was clear: Dennehy and Ferreira.
Symons said the pair bring both experience and confidence to their leadership roles. “We've got two people that are very, very experienced, confident leaders within our program,” said Symons.
Ferreira sees those qualities in Dennehy every day. “Taiya is an unreal player. She's a person on the field that I look to [in order to] calm myself down,” said Ferreira. “When she's having a good time, everyone around her is having a good time. When Taiya's smiling, everyone around her is smiling. She puts the team on her back whenever they need.”
The Thunderbirds carry the expectations of a dominant program into the 2026–27 season, but are focused on building on their past success rather than trying to recreate it.
With the sheer amount of success the T-Birds have achieved over the years, it's easy to get stuck on their past accomplishments. Every year, the expectations get higher. Even so, the players view that pressure as a badge of honour, embracing the opportunity to represent both the university's — and one of the country's — most dominant programs.
The coaches and players try to have a healthy perspective on these demands. Although a championship is the goal every season, a season without one is not an automatic failure.
“As a team, we've been very proud of our past stats and our history of no goals against and how many goals [we’ve] scored … but we don't want to get in the mindset [of] ‘we have to perform exactly like last year,’” said Dennehy.
Ferreira believes the team's success will not be measured only by the final result, but by what each player gives to the group. "No matter what comes of this season, everyone will look back and say, ‘I tried my hardest, no matter what,’” she said. “And I think there's going to be smiles, because our team is unreal, and it's a massive family.”
Even with their loss at nationals, the Thunderbirds are still riding a 32-game Canada West regular-season winning streak. Although it is not the team's primary focus, the T-Birds also take pride in their defensive record and will look to return to the defensive identity that defined much of their recent success.
The 2026–27 season officially kicked off for the Thunderbirds last weekend, as they won both games against UBC Okanagan and Trinity Western. After two weeks on the road, the T-Birds will have their highly-anticipated home opener on Sept. 18 at Ken Woods Field against the Heat, once again.
