The UBC women’s soccer team remain undefeated after a 3–0 win over the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades on Sunday, September 22 at Thunderbird Stadium.
The Thunderbirds had a slow start as the Cascades immediately took the defensive stance. UBC dominated possession, moving the ball around skillfully, but struggled to score against UFV’s compact defence. The T-Birds had many good touches in the first half getting chances, but were having difficulty getting onto the scoreboard. In the end, the dominating offence of UBC was clear as they outshot UFV 17–3.
“We kept the ball really well. I thought we managed their transition ... [and] we were able to stop any counterattacks today with our structure,” said UBC head coach Jesse Symons after the game.
The Thunderbirds finally broke through the Cascades' defence when a T-Bird’s shot attempt was blocked by UFV, giving UBC a pivotal corner. Holly Whelan took the corner and had a phenomenal shot, scoring UBC’s first point in the 36th minute. This put the T-Birds in a good place, up by one at halftime.
In the second half UBC continued to control possession, but the Cascades, with more fire offensively, tried to keep the game close. Unfortunately for UFV, the T-Birds were still sharp on offence and were not letting them catch up. UBC pulled away with a commanding second goal in the 54th minute scored by Sofia Peckenpaugh, her first as a T-Bird, assisted by Bailey Doerksen.
UBC sealed their win as Hannah Bains made a through ball to Doerksen who then placed an effective cross to find Jade Taylor-Ryan to tap it in for a third goal in the 88th minute. This was Taylor-Ryan's first goal of the season and Doerksen’s second assist of the game.
The Thunderbirds played a solid game continuing their strong start to the season, and look poised to return to the national championships in Halifax to defend their title.
“That’s our objective every year,” Symons said “I’m hoping we get back there this year in Halifax and can hopefully represent the school well.”
Now with a 6–0 streak, UBC will be heading to Kamloops to face the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack on Friday, September 27 at 5 p.m.
“I’m excited to see who we bring to TRU on Friday,” said Symons. “A lot of players got to showcase themselves today and on Friday night.”
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