In one of their closest matchups of the season, UBC women’s soccer was able to scrape by with a 1–0 win, taking down their in-province rivals, the Trinity Western University (TWU) Spartans in Langley last Friday.
After the Thunderbirds finished their back-to-back weekend at home — picking up wins against UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University — they went back on the road for the last time this season, with this game against TWU, and the next against the University of the Fraser Valley. The Spartans also had a weekend away, with two high scoring wins against the University of Northern British Columbia, outscoring them 9–0 across both games.
TWU had been on a hot streak coming into last Friday’s game, with six wins in a row — not losing a game since dropping one to Thompson Rivers University on Sept. 6. Given how strong both teams are, it would be fair for fans to expect an intense battle going into the game. With both the Spartans and ‘Birds having extensive winning streaks heading into the match and both ranking in the top 10 nationally, this game was a chance for either to make a statement as one of the top teams in not just Canada West, but the country.
This was not the first time the T-Birds played TWU this season. The last time they faced off against the Spartans, while it was their closest match of the season, the ‘Birds eventually pulled away with a 1–0 win — with an early goal deciding the game.
This game was a similar story — ending with the same score — however, this time, the deciding goal would not come until late in the game. With Sienna Gibson's strike in the 59th minute, UBC put an end to TWU’s win streak, extending their own winning streak to 11 on the season and 34 in U Sports matches across the past two years.
The game started with high energy, with Gibson getting the first shot off, forcing a save from the Spartans’ goalkeeper. TWU was able to quickly respond with a shot by Mansha Sidhu, a third-year forward, one of the Spartans’ top offensive players of the night.
After the first 20 minutes — counter to many T-Birds games this season — TWU was getting a lot of close chances, even forcing saves by UBC’s goalkeeper, Dakota Beckett. UBC’s defence and attack was looking flat early on, especially in comparison to the Spartans, who played with high pressure.
So far this season, Beckett has seen little action in the net, facing less than 2 shots on goal per game this season, as UBC’s defence has been top tier, suffocating opposing offences. In this game, Beckett was heroic, staying composed in the net despite the increased workload, doing her job to keep UBC’s streak of clean-sheet games alive. The ‘Birds have not been scored on yet this year in Canada West play.
Nearing the end of the first half, fourth-year forward Holland Stiel — another dangerous player for the Spartans — made a powerful shot that could have been the end of UBC’s clean-sheet record. However, Beckett was just able to get a hand on it to tip it out, giving TWU a corner. This kind of difficult save for Beckett was common throughout the game.
In the first half UBC looked off, particularly on defence, giving up plenty of chances to TWU, who had 13 shots and eight shots on goal in this game in comparison to UBC’s two. Prior to this game, the ‘Birds had only faced 13 shots on goal all season. The Spartans were controlling the game early on and the T-Birds were left reacting to TWU’s forward pressure.
At halftime the game was still scoreless — Beckett had kept UBC in it. This was the second time in the last week the T-Birds did not score in the first half, something which had previously only happened once this season.
In the first minute of the second half, TWU picked up right where they left off, with another close shot that Beckett saved and knocked out-of-bounds. On the ensuing corner, TWU was able to set up another scoring chance, this time going just high.
With UBC feeling the pressure from the Spartans — only having one shot in the game so far — the Thunderbirds needed to make some changes in the way they were playing. The T-Birds’ usual calm and patient ball-handling to hold possession was not working, as TWU was pressing hard and beating them to balls — keeping possession for themselves and setting up shots.
Finally, in the 59th minute, UBC turned on their offensive power with a fast-moving play. Victoria Cronkhite made a beautiful quick pass through to Gibson, who turned on the jets and ran right to the net. Before TWU could cut her off, she took a beautiful shot at the top of the box to score the game’s first and only goal. While they had very few offensive chances in the game, UBC made their opportunities count.
This really shifted the energy for UBC — by taking the lead, they gained a great boost of confidence. The T-Birds picked up energy on both ends of the field, digging in more on defence, playing the rest of the second half to preserve their small lead and keep their clean-sheet streak.
A player who exemplified this defensive crackdown was Jayda Thompson, who battled on defence and forced more difficult touches for the Spartans. Overall, she worked hard on both ends of the field, also trying to set up some offensive chances for the Thunderbirds. While she did not have much luck on offence, her efforts helped boost UBC’s energy.
Late in the second half, while the ‘Birds improved at keeping possession, the Spartans made it very difficult to close out the game, as they looked to respond and tie the score. After a battle in the box, the ‘Birds cleared the ball, with Gibson gaining possession. She passed it over to Thompson, who made a quick touch back to Gibson — trying to find an opening — but the Spartans quickly closed in.
In the final minutes of the game, TWU earned a free kick — one of their last chances to tie the game. The Spartans were able to get off a great shot, but Beckett was able to dive and tip it out, making yet another tough save for the T-Birds.
In a nail-biter, the ‘Birds held on until the end, with TWU giving them a run for their money. In the last 10 minutes of the game, despite increased urgency from TWU to get the tying score, UBC shut everything down on defence, not letting the Spartans get any more shots to end the game with the close 1–0 victory.
With this win UBC clinched the top of the Pacific Division, as TWU was sitting just below them in the standings. This sets them up well for the playoffs, with only one more weekend of games before the Canada West post-season starts. Although they did not dominate in this game, they were able to finish when it counted, showing perseverance and resilience through the game — attributes they haven’t often been able to attune with how dominant they’ve been all year. Given how successful both teams have been, they will likely have to face each other again in the playoffs — with the Spartans likely looking to finally get a win over the T-Birds.
The ‘Birds wouldn’t have much time to rest after this close contest, however. Their last weekend on the road continued with the Thunderbirds playing the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford on Oct. 12.
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