Last year, third-year forward Maddy Norman had an impressive season, scoring eight goals, which was good for third on the team. This year, she's already close to surpassing it.
Across just one show-stopping weekend, she scored four goals, two against UFV in a 5–0 win on Friday and two more against UNBC on Sunday, helping propel women's soccer through two more outstanding road wins to start their 2026 campaign.
Norman's goals against UNBC allowed the Thunderbirds to keep the ball rolling with a second thrashing over the weekend, taking down the UNBC Timberwolves 5–0 on a Sunday afternoon in Prince George. Norman had a second-straight brace for an incredible five-point weekend, making a name for herself as UBC's strongest scoring threat this season.
The T-Birds' offence has been a key part of their game for the past few years. In 2025, UBC led the Canada West in goals with 42 at the end of the regular season. But with their 10 goals this weekend, and 15 so far in the season, they are on track to match or even surpass last year's conference-leading numbers by the end of this campaign.
Against the T-Wolves, it was basically all offence, all the time. They were relentless. In 90 minutes of play, they had 40 shots. This effort was led by Norman, who embodied this tenacity on the field, constantly searching to connect in front of the net even as the 'Birds grew their strong lead.
The T-Birds wasted no time pushing up the field. Right from the kick-off, fifth-year Jayda Thompson turned on her speed to find an opening. Once Thompson saw one down the right flank, she quickly placed the ball right into the box for Felicia Hanisch. It was a great play, but the header sailed just high, narrowly missing the crossbar. It wasn't a goal, but by almost scoring only 15 seconds in, it set the tone for UBC's dominance in the rest of the game.
It wouldn't take long for UBC's efforts to pay off. Deep in the Timberwolves' end, second-year midfielder Chloe Van Schalkwyk threw the ball back into play (and immediately got it back), setting a solid set piece into motion for UBC. It was an early example of Van Schalkwyk's efforts to move the ball around for UBC, creating plenty of opportunities for the 'Birds throughout.
Chloe Van Schalkwyk (#22) had a nifty set-up on UBC's first goal of the day.
As she created space by the sideline, she launched a cross in front of the net. From nearly the same spot Hanisch missed from earlier, Norman was there to connect. With another header, Norman sent the ball sailing into the net to score only four minutes in.
UBC was first onto the board, but they didn't let up. In the first few minutes, they found a solid rhythm, firing shot after shot at UNBC's net. The Thunderbirds were putting UNBC's second-year keeper Johanna Rathke to the test early, with three shots on net by only the seventh minute. Only three minutes after their first goal, the T-Birds were successful off a set piece again. Their unrelenting attempts at goal earned them two straight corners, thanks to Rathke deflecting shots out-of-bounds twice.
Third-year Bailey Doerksen stepped up to take both corners, and on the second, she sent a beautiful ball swinging in toward the net. After a Taiya Dennehy shot was saved on the first corner, this time, co-captain Sophia Ferreira was there for the successful set piece, with another header to bring the score up to 2–0 .
This connection meant more than just the goal, as both Doerksen and Ferreira have made incredible comebacks to even play this season. Both have been strong players for the Thunderbirds, winning back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024, but unfortunately both players had to sit out for the whole 2025 season as they were sidelined due to injury.
Both have taken the hard path to heal, and are now back on the field, making their minutes count.
Against UNBC, they certainly did. With another corner seven minutes later, the T-Birds had an opportunity for a third successful set piece. Doerksen sent the ball sailing into the box, once again sailing towards Ferreira. This time, however, Rathke was prepared as she deflected the ball away. But the play wasn't over. It bounced back into the box, and with Ferreira moving quickly, she got her foot on it, and with a high kick off the crossbar and in, she put UBC up 3–0 in only the first 15 minutes of the match.
Although the T-Birds had a comfortable lead early on, they didn't let up, and although they didn't score again in the first half, it was not for lack of trying. UBC had 23 shots in the first half, dominating possession, as the Timberwolves barely advanced at all, only managing one shot. Trailing 3–0 early, you couldn't blame the T-Wolves for not putting on a strong press against the Thunderbirds, but their defence was leaving much to be desired.
The T-Birds walked all over them, raining down shots from everywhere leaving Rathke to hold things down alone in the net. Of UBC's 40 shots in the game, 20 of them were on target, and Rathke made 15 saves. Although the 5–0 final was a blowout, without Rathke's performance, it could've been much worse.
For the past two seasons, the Timberwolves' saving grace has been their keeper. Rathke leads Canada West in saves with 40 in the season, and a top-10 save percentage of 0.82. Last season, Rathke played 14 games and amassed 161 saves, leading Canada West again with 51 more saves than the next-highest keeper.
To start the second half, the Timberwolves showed some signs of life, perhaps sparked by Rathke's efforts. After some back and forth, third-year midfielder Maresha Manulak — a bright spot in UNBC's otherwise inconsequential offence — stripped the ball from UBC and quickly turned on the attack. With a long boot into the box, Manulak set up third-year defender Grace Barrett to shoot. It wasn't a powerful shot, but it was still one of their best looks in the match. It was their first shot in the second half, and after a quiet first 45, UBC keeper Emma Sparrow got the easy save.
Whatever momentum UNBC had in the first moments of the half was snuffed out quickly. Further into the second half, UBC's offence had gotten back into a strong rhythm, controlling possession and getting sights on net again.
As a team, UBC was deadly off corners. Barring their fifth and final goal, UBC scored all their goals in this game on set pieces off of corner kicks.
A key part of this offence for UBC was corners. The 'Birds had completely mastered their formula for corners against UNBC, as with 10 total in the match, they made them count, scoring off them multiple times. When they earned yet another halfway through the second half, the Timberwolves had to know they were in trouble.
Doerksen, who yet again took the corner, was great in this match as a playmaker for UBC. This kick was no different. She sent a long ball into the box to find second-year Sabrina Nascimento Carreira, who had subbed on at half. Carreira was there to send a third header toward the net to score. This time, it hit off the bar and into the net, as UBC's corner clinic put them up 4-0.
Only four minutes after the goal, third-year Sofia Peckenpaugh — only a couple minutes after subbing into the game — had yet another opportunity for the T-Birds. Taking the ball just outside of the box, she sidestepped a defender and fired off a long shot towardthe net. Like the previous goal, it hit the bar — but this time, it went straight down with time for Rathke to clear it.
But a near-miss wasn't good enough. The Thunderbirds couldn't let the match end without another goal. This time, it would be Norman again, finishing off her brace to match Ferreira's, ending the scoring for the T-Birds. With only a few minutes left, Hanisch placed a great cross through the middle into box to find Norman. Going through plenty of players, Norman was able to jump on it and quickly fire the ball past Rathke to end the game with two stellar goals. Thanks to their relentless offence, they matched the score of their Friday game, winning 5–0.
Norman had a strong season last year with eight goals and four assists, but has taken it to a new level to start this season. So far, she is leading Canada West in goals and points, with five and eight respectively. She's paving the way for an incredibly strong offensive team.
Before this match, UNBC only gave up four goals in their three losses, but the T-Birds blew that out of the water, more than doubling the T-Wolves' goals conceded on the season in their 5–0 win, a testament to their stellar offence.
This game was more than just another regular season win. For head coach Jesse Symons, it was his 100th career win. In only his 10th season with the Thunderbirds, Symons has become the fastest coach in Canada West history to reach 100 wins.
What Symons has achieved as head coach is nothing short of remarkable. With an overall record of 100–13–15, the program has been dominant throughout his tenure, and they've only continued to destroy the competition through the start of the 2026 season. They're now 4–0, and are the only team in the Pacific Division that hasn't dropped points yet.
Next week, the Thunderbirds will finally return home after their successful road campaign. Their long-awaited home opener is Friday, Sept. 18 at Ken Woods Field as they will face off against their sister school, the UBC Okanagan Heat.
