Under the lights at Thunderbird Stadium, the UBC women’s soccer team won a rematch against the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday evening, extending their U Sports win streak to 32 and notching their ninth straight clean-sheet game with a final score of 4–0.
In what started as a potentially competitive match between the Thunderbirds and the Heat eventually became another dominating win for the ‘Birds. UBCO’s women’s soccer has never beaten UBC and that did not change this weekend.
UBC’s last game was against the Heat, winning 5–0 in a display of offensive excellence. On Friday, UBCO did a much better job at keeping UBC at bay for longer, with the first goal not coming until the end of the first half. Despite holding the ‘Birds off early, the Heat did not get a much better result, as the Heat’s attempt for redemption fell flat.
Ava Alexander, a fifth-year forward, had an incredible game, scoring three of UBC's four goals with a hat-trick. This season, she’s been having a lot of success, scoring six goals this year, doubling her previous career high.
“Ava had a fantastic game,” said head coach Jesse Symons. “She’s been good all season, and [I’m] really proud of her for finishing those chances she [had] today.”
Five of the T-Birds’ last six games were away so Friday’s game was a bit of a homecoming for them. Even after their bye week, the T-Birds kept their momentum going and showed out for the home crowd.
“We were excited to come back home, play on our home field with all of our friends and family here,” said Alexander.
For the Heat, since their home loss to the Thunderbirds two weeks prior, UBCO struggled, coming off two tough battles with a 0–0 draw against the UFV Cascades and a 1–0 loss against the Trinity Western University Spartans (TWU) .
Those two games continued the Heat’s offensive dry spell. Despite outshooting both UFV and TWU — with an 11–5 advantage over the Spartans — they could not connect, going into Friday’s game having not scored since September 12th. Facing UBC’s stout defence, this drought continued, being barely able to get any shots off against the Thunderbirds, with four shots on goal to UBC’s 21.
Coming into this game, UBCO stood at fifth in the Pacific Division standings, just four points behind the University of Victoria for the last playoff spot. Now they slip further out of reach of the playoffs, while the Thunderbirds get closer to clinching the division’s top seed and earning home advantage throughout the postseason.
UBC, on the other hand, has been playing like a well-oiled machine. Even with many newcomers, the ‘Birds have been quite the force to reckon with. Their success so far has been a team effort with the defence playing incredible, shutting down anything coming remotely close to the net, while on offence, eight T-Birds have more than three points (goals and assists) so far this season and six T-Birds have more than three goals this season.
“We’ve had a really fun season so far,” said Alexander. “The team’s really been gelling, so they definitely make it pretty fun to play.”
To start the match, UBCO did a much better job at holding possession in comparison to their last game against UBC. They approached their attack with patience in a similar way to UBC. By cycling the ball and making good touches to hold possession the Heat were able to create opportunities early in the game. They also found some early success in net, with UBCO playing a different goalkeeper from last time against UBC, starting Talia Gagnon in net.
In the first half, Gagnon looked very confident and composed, holding off UBC’s prolific offence for almost the whole first half. Despite her best efforts, UBCO could not hold back the ‘Birds for the whole game.
Nearing the end of the first half, UBC was finally able to connect. After a great touch pass by midfielder Sienna Gibson led forward Jayda Thompson into the box, Thompson played a quick touch back to Alexander. Mistaking Thompson’s pass for a shot, Gagnon dove to make a save to no avail as Alexander tapped the ball in to earn UBC’s first point in the 41st minute.
Although the score was close to end the first half — with UBC only up 1–0 — the T-Birds were still outplaying the Heat by a long shot, with 14 shots to UBCO’s zero.
Gagnon and the Heat defence kept them in it. Although by the end of the match, it was still a dominating win for UBC, the difference in goal still marked an improvement for UBCO.
Yet, despite the Heat’s defensive success in the first half, the second half was much different. UBC started the period off with a bang, wasting no time to find the back of the net again with Alexander notching her second of the game, just over a minute and a half into the half.
After taking 40 minutes to get their first goal, the ‘Birds started scoring in bunches. Less than two minutes after Alexander’s goal, UBC scored again with a penalty kick. As the whole crowd fell silent, Ella Sunde stepped up and fired a beautiful goal.
After some back and forth, UBC’s Maddy Norman made a great cross into the box to find Alexander. Despite facing pressure from two Heat defenders, Alexander was able to keep the ball and launch it to score her third of the game, bringing the score to 4–0 with almost 30 minutes left in the second half.
Holding such a strong lead nearing the end of the game, the T-Birds subbed in three first-year players. With UBC’s success this season, they've been able to reach into their bench and play the new players more.
The Thunderbirds have shown this season that the depth of their team is what makes them such dangerous contenders. They aren’t led by one star but rather a complete group, with lots of room for growth and continued success in its young core.
“We’re a team that has a really good culture about itself, and [the first-years] understand what our mindset is here in every game we play,” said Symons. “Fortunately for us, they learn quick, and they’re very talented players, so they’re fitting in really well.”
“We knew that it was going to be a big incoming class, but they’ve done amazing to just come right in, they’re ready to play,” said Alexander. “They’re stepping into games like they’re a senior player.”
Nearing the end of the game, the Heat desperately tried to salvage something positive from the match, becoming more aggressive on attack and putting on a higher press to match UBC’s. In the 81st minute, they had their closest chance yet with their first shot on goal off a free kick — but UBC keeper Dakota Beckett was there with an easy save.
Despite being rarely tested in the game, Beckett showed confidence in the net, staying composed and ready when any action comes her way. When combined with a stifling defence, there’s a reason the ‘Birds haven’t been scored on yet this year.
“I think we've held teams to very few opportunities. And with that comes shutouts, which is what we've been trying to do a lot,” said Symons.
Even with much younger players UBC’s defence has been outstanding; the two first-years Sophie Harrison and Heike Clarke and second-year Zoelle Apps have “been phenomenal all season,” according to Symons.
“They’ve done an exceptional job learning to manage spaces and defend spaces quickly,” he said. “I think you can’t give enough credit either, though, to our two more senior players with Taiya holding in midfield and Ella Sunde at right back.”
This weekend, while they are at home, the Thunderbirds have a tough schedule of back-to-back games, turning to face the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack on Saturday night.
While playing two different opponents in one weekend — especially teams with distinct playing styles like UBCO and TRU — is always a difficult task, the T-Birds have proven this season that they have the right mindset for success.
“They really buy into every game plan we have and understand how to stop certain attacks from different teams,” said Symons.
First online
Share this article
