Weekend Rundown: Fly T-Birds Fly

Salomon Micko Benrimoh

Welcome back to Weekend Rundown, your place to stay up to date with all of the different Thunderbirds teams!

Unrelenting ’Birds beat WolfPack and Heat

Coming off their first loss of the season, the UBC Thunderbirds women’s soccer team bounced back Friday afternoon with a nail-biting 2–1 victory over the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack in Kamloops.

The game was tightly contested right from the start, as both teams traded possession throughout much of the opening half. The Thunderbirds were the first to get on the board 29 minutes in when Natasha Klasios buried her first goal of the season after receiving a great cross from Alyssa Hunt running down the left flank.

However, the visiting squad would double their lead just seven minutes later.

On a play reminiscent of the opening goal, Sophie Damian shot the ball past the outstretched fingers of the WolfPack keeper after receiving a pinpoint pass from Amelia Crawford.

The ’Birds would go into the break up by two goals, although the game was much closer than the score indicated.

The second half started off with a determined WolfPack team putting pressure on the ’Birds as they attempted to mount a comeback.

TRU’s Camryn Curts would cut the lead in half at the 55-minute mark, scoring a beautiful goal by dekeing around three T-Bird defenders and finessing a shot into the top corner.

The match would almost be tied during stoppage time, when an out-of-position Emily Moore misplayed the ball and passed it right to Chantal Gammie, who would shoot it over the net.

The ’Birds were right back at it on Saturday, travelling to Kelowna to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat where a second-half Alyssa Hunt goal lifted them past by a score of 1–0 and consolidated their place at third overall in Canada West behind the Trinity Western University Spartans and the University of Calgary Dinos.

['auto'] File Salomon Micko Benrimoh

Men’s soccer thrash WolfPack, draw with Heat

In an exceptional display of tactical dominance, the UBC Thunderbirds men’s soccer team thrashed the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack with a staggering 5–0 score.

The T-Birds dominated the WolfPack right from the get-go. UBC midfielder Nick Fussell opened the goal fest after an excellent assist by fourth-year midfielder Mackenzie Cole in the 30th minute.

The T-Birds doubled their lead in the next minute, when veteran forward Victory Shumbusho outran his marker for a through pass and calmly lobbed the ball into the net.

The first half ended 3–0 for UBC as midfielder Sean Einarsson scored his second goal of the season after another assist by Cole in the 40th minute.

TRU’s performance improved in the second half and possession was more evenly distributed between the two sides.

That came to an end in the 85th minute when UBC forward Ryan Arthur received an incisive pass from veteran midfielder Thomas Gardner, dribbled to the penalty box and scored the fourth goal of the game for the T-Birds.

A lightning fast dribble down the left flank by UBC midfielder Mihai Hodut catalysed Arthur’s second goal of the game two minutes into extra time.

“That was our best first half that we’ve played,” said UBC head coach Mike Mosher. “Very solid defensively — we didn’t give anything up. We punished them for mistakes that they made, and we were good on the ball. We score goals, and we make teams come at us.”

The T-Birds’ subsequent clash with the UBC Okanagan Heat saw them walk away with a draw after a late Heat equalizer. The team continue their Canada West campaign this Thursday, playing the University of Victoria Vikes in the annual Legends Cup.

['auto'] Aman Sridhar

Women’s field hockey earn fourth draw in a row against Calgary Dinos

The UBC women’s field hockey team closed out their last two regular season games on campus with draws against the visiting University of Calgary Dinos.

The pair of games gave the T-Birds their third and fourth straight draws after ending last weekend’s double-header against the University of Victoria Vikes with two 0–0 draws.

The draws, a 2–2 game on Saturday and a 1–1 decision on Sunday leave the ’Birds on top of the Canada West standings and in a decent position to take the Canada West crown en route to this year’s U Sports Nationals.

The ’Birds came out swinging in Saturday’s game, with Sarah Goodman and Sanehpreet Basra scoring at the 24th and 27th minutes to give the home team a 2–0 lead in the game. The Dinos proceeded to come back just as strong, scoring six minutes apart thanks to two penalty shots by Jenna Bower.

Sunday’s game saw the ’Birds come back from a 1–0 deficit after an early Calgary goal. The tying tally coming courtesy of third-year midfielder Thora Rae.

The ’Birds will have two weeks to rest and prepare before travelling to Victoria to take on the Vikes in the penultimate games of the 2019 Canada West season and the coveted annual Legends Cup.

Depending on how the Vikes perform themselves against the Dinos this weekend in Calgary, the Legends Cup will most likely determine this year’s conference champions and who gets to travel to National Championships

['auto'] Christopher Ma