In a nail-biting rematch of last year’s gold medal game, the UBC women’s soccer team faced L’Université Laval Rouge et Or in the semifinals at the U Sports Women’s Soccer Championship. After falling down 2–0 early in the game, it looked as though the ‘Birds outstanding season was going to come to a devastating end with their first loss of the year. That was, until fourth-year Jayda Thompson put on an offensive clinic.
Scoring two goals and assisting on another, Thompson’s offensive firepower paved the way for the Thunderbirds to stage a comeback in the second half and win 3–2. With this win, they will officially return to the finals to defend their back-to-back titles.
Coming into this game, UBC had a target on their back. Just last year, in the U Sports Championship final, they had faced the Rouge et Or, with a marker at the end of the first half securing UBC’s ninth national title, becoming back-to-back champions. It was a tough defensive game, and although Laval outshot the T-Birds 12–7, UBC was able to outlast them in the end and earn the 1–0 win for gold.
As the runner-up last year, Laval was certainly expected to do well — but this year, they’d face a difficult path back to the season’s final game. After falling to the University of Montreal Carabins in the RSEQ conference final, Laval sat in the fifth-seed entering this tournament. Because of this, Laval faced a difficult draw, having to get through a challenging game against the fourth-seeded AUS champions — the Cape Breton University Capers — in the quarterfinals.
It was a deadlocked scoreless game at halftime, before the Capers opened scoring early in the second. The defending silver-medallists were on the brink. Laval didn’t blink. They claimed their spot in the semifinal round with a second-half comeback, securing the win at the last minute, toppling the Capers 2–1.
UBC had, theoretically, an easier draw, earning the first seed after their historic year, going undefeated, allowing no goals in the regular season and earning the Canada West title. Because of this success, they played the lowest-seeded team in the tournament, the eighth-seeded University of Guelph Gryphons, in the quarterfinals.
Yet, even as the top team at U Sports, the game was a close one. The Thunderbirds earned a goal early in the second half, but when an unlucky penalty kick went the right way for Guelph to tie the score, the game needed extra time. UBC came through when it mattered most though — the T-Birds held strong in overtime, with Sienna Gibson netting the game-winning goal to take the win 2–1.
With both teams having tough quarterfinal matchups, they’d each be looking to get off to a fast start in this one. Looking to return to the gold medal game, it was the Rouge et Or who came out swinging. Both teams exerted pressure on offence right away, but when Laval earned a free kick just past the centre line less than 15 minutes in, it was the set piece they needed.
Fifth-year winger Mathilde Rousseau stepped up to take the kick from distance, playing a beautiful ball right into the box for fourth-year midfielder Elsa Lessard — Laval’s player of the game — to tap it in the bottom corner of the net. The defending champs were trailing — something they hadn’t experienced in over two years. With Laval’s goal, UBC was behind in regulation time of a U Sports game for the first time since Oct. 23, 2023.
Despite the early deficit, UBC did not look discouraged, trying to respond with a goal of their own. Pushing up the field, Thompson surged forward with some great touches to hold possession. With the ball going to Gibson, the quarterfinal hero, she tried to find Thompson in the box, but UBC could not set anything up. The Rouge et Or stuck with them on defence, immediately filling in the box.
Soon after that chance, the Thunderbirds earned a free kick of their own but, unlike Laval, they could not use the set piece to their advantage, with UBC’s ball into the box being headed away. Trying to salvage a chance with some back and forth, Maddy Norman got a foot on the ball — but it went wide. Norman then made a quick touch over to Zoelle Apps, who fired it at the net, but it went right into the arms of Laval’s keeper, Anne-Gabrielle Pouliot.
Only a second-year player, Pouliot caused some trouble for the T-Birds in the first half. UBC couldn’t score on her — but it was not for lack of trying. She had seven saves in the first half, with five of those coming in the first 30 minutes.
With the T-Birds stymied, Laval struck again. Getting the ball in the box, while Laval could not get the shot off, with Apps blocking the attempt, the Rouge et Or were given a lifeline. On the play, Apps was called for a foul in the box, earning a yellow card and giving Laval a penalty kick.
This call marked the second penalty kick allowed by the T-Birds in the tournament — and their third in as many games, giving one up the day before in their quarterfinal game against the Gryphons, and one in the Canada West final against TWU. This was despite the T-Birds not being called for a single penalty kick all year prior to the TWU game.
Léa-Jeanne Fortier, Laval’s fourth-year midfielder and a U Sports first-team all-Canadian, stepped up to take the penalty kick, looking to add to her seven goals in the regular season. With a beautiful bottom corner shot, Fortier brought the score to 2–0, as ‘Birds keeper Dakota Beckett unfortunately guessed wrong, diving to the other side.
Not only was this the first time UBC had trailed in a game in more than two years, they were also already down by two in the first half. For the first time this season, the completely dominant Thunderbirds were being tested. To reach their goal of returning to the finals, UBC would have to flip the game on its head. They could have easily become discouraged early and let Laval control the rest of the game. The T-Birds are not that kind of team.
Only two minutes after Laval’s second goal, the T-Birds responded in a big way. Taking the ball into the box, Holly Whelan made an extra touch over to Thompson right in front of the net. Taking a second to line it up, she fired a phenomenal shot past Pouliot to close the gap and make the score 2–1.
With their deficit cut in half, the Thunderbirds tried to keep their momentum going. UBC kept the pressure up as Gibson took a shot from a distance, being deflected wide, but earning UBC the corner. Taiya Dennehy played the corner short to Whelan, who put the ball right into the box. While Laval was first to it — knocking it out with a header — it secured another UBC corner.
Even though they could not connect on the second corner either, they were putting pressure on Laval, pushing the action to their net. UBC could not tie it up before halftime, but the T-Birds showed resilience, playing with confidence in their abilities to get the game back in their favour.
To start the second half, the Rouge et Or had some close chances, as they looked to once again extend their lead. Fortier ran the charge with two shots, with the first one going high — but the second was on target. As she’s done all year, though, Beckett got the save, looking sharp in the second half.
While the Rouge et Or had some chances, UBC did not let Laval hold possession for long. The T-Birds had work to do to win this match. Leading the charge, again, was Thompson. With her quick feet, she continued to push the T-Birds’ offence, taking the ball up the sideline, battling against the Rouge et Or defence before earning a corner for UBC.
Despite Dennehy playing a great ball off the corner into the far side of the box, the Thunderbirds could not quite connect. Just like at the end of the first half, however, they earned another corner to get into the box to keep the offensive energy and attack high.
Plays like this were indicative of a larger shift in momentum. UBC was able to dominate possession for a lot of the second half, keeping the ball in Laval’s end. With their constant high press, they were able to regain the ball quickly any time it was lost. They also did well to put Laval in tough defensive situations where their only option was to clear it. These efforts on both ends of the pitch helped UBC earn five corners in the second half — many of them back-to-back.
Finally, UBC’s hard work paid off. After a close chance by the Rouge et Or, the Thunderbirds caught Laval off guard as Thompson went on a breakaway right into the box. Pouliot came out to challenge her — but Thompson was ready for it. Avoiding the Laval keeper, she made a beautiful touch to Norman, who tapped it in to even the score at two.
With that equalizer, it was anyone’s game — and time was running out. Feeling that urgency, both teams turned up the attack, hoping to finish it in regulation. This was especially true for UBC, having already played in extra time in their game against the Gryphons the day before. National tournaments are already draining, playing two or three games in quick succession — playing past 90 minutes only amplifies that.
First, it was the Rouge et Or who looked to seal it. Laval’s Emmanuelle Collin tried to take the ball into the box — but the T-Birds defence stuck right beside her. As Collin opened up space for a shot, first-year defender Sabrina Carreira slid in to clear it out of the back line. The Rouge et Or were unsuccessful on the ensuing corner, with Beckett coming out to snatch the ball as it sailed into the box.
After Laval’s push, it was the T-Birds’ turn. With less than five minutes left in the game, Thompson once again led the charge. Starting the rush, UBC’s defence cleared the ball up the field, and when headed back by Laval, Norman quickly reacted with a volley towards Laval’s net. Right on time, Thompson was there. She raced out front, being first to the ball with two Rouge et Or defenders close on her trail. Just as one went to stop her with a slide-tackle, Thompson fired a beautiful low shot, out of reach of the keeper. UBC had completed the comeback. This phenomenal goal brought the score to 3–2, with UBC having the win in their grasp.
With the work not quite over yet, however, UBC refocused to keep Laval at bay until the end. The T-Birds held strong in the last five minutes, and once the final whistle blew, they could finally celebrate. Although they were contested more than they had been in years with Laval’s early 2–0 lead, UBC rose to the challenge. By winning despite adversity, the Thunderbirds demonstrated why they were ranked as the top team in U Sports all season, and why they were the first seed in this tournament.
The T-Birds’ saving grace in this game, Thompson, rightfully earned player of the game. She was the spark the Thunderbirds needed to set their offence aflame — even more impressive considering that she was only a few games removed from an injury in the Canada West quarterfinal that sidelined her for a game.
With this well-fought match, UBC punched their ticket back to the U Sports gold medal game for the third year in a row. They are set to face the University of Montreal Carabins who won their own semifinal match later that day against the University of Trinity Western Spartans, taking home a commanding 4–0 win.
With only one game left to play, the Thunderbirds have officially reached the moment they have been waiting for — the finals. The Carabins will be a worthy opponent, being the only other undefeated team at nationals. They faced off the following Sunday, Nov. 9, as UBC tried to earn their tenth national title to mark the first three-peat in U Sports history.
