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T-Birds defeat Golden Bears with a fourth quarter comeback
UBC football defeated the Alberta Golden Bears 30–21 on September 4 after a 16 point fourth quarter comeback.
At the half of the T-Birds season opener, UBC football honoured the 1982 and 1997 Vanier Cup championship teams.
The T-Birds and Golden Bears were tied 14–14 at halftime. The Bears scored the only points of the third when Kolby Hurford received a 14-yard touchdown pass from Eli Hetlinger. This put the T-Birds in a 21–14 deficit heading into the final frame, but they continued to fight back.
2021 Canada West Rookie of the Year Garrett Rooker found rookie receiver Shemar McBean for a brilliant 98-yard touchdown play early in the fourth, tying the game 21–21.
The T-Birds carried the momentum for the rest of the quarter. Bears punter Nathan Kasowski fumbled the ball in the end zone, giving UBC a 23–21 lead off of the safety. After completing another 12-yard pass to McBean, Rooker rushed 6 yards for his first touchdown of the season, extending the lead to 30–21.
McBean played an outstanding first U Sports game and led all receivers with 136 yards.
The T-Birds were placed third in the 2022 Canada West pre-season coaches poll and the season opener showed the potential of this season’s campaign. However, UBC football head coach Blake Nill believes there is still work to be done.
“Anyone who knows Canada West knows Alberta is going to be physical. They’re going to be aggressive and finish their box,” Nill said. “If we could just inch towards that type of culture, I think this program would be unstoppable.”
Tolnai's hat-trick powers T-Birds to home-opening victory
UBC women’s soccer defeated the University of Victoria Vikes 4–0 to earn their third straight shutout of the season.
On Thursday night, 3,412 fans filed into the stands of the Thunderbird Stadium. Among the many returning Thunderbirds were students from UBC’s incoming class, getting their first taste of T-Birds sports action.
The T-Birds held possession for the majority of the first half, but it was not until the 44th minute that Danielle Steer found the back of the net off a brilliant pass by third-year midfielder Nisa Reehal.
Steer was named the Canada West Soccer Player of the Week by the Canada West conference on August 30 and will be a key player to keep an eye on this season. On August 26, fifth-year striker Steer had a pair of assists and scored a hat-trick against the Fraser Valley Cascades, contributing to a dominant 8–0 season-opening victory.
The highlight of the game came in the second half when second-year midfielder Katalin Tolnai shut the Vikes down with three goals in the span of seven minutes.
Even with an excellent start to the season, UBC women’s head coach Jesse Symons hopes to continue the momentum through to October and make the playoffs.
“All three games so far have shown a good quality, and we played a lot of players already this season. So, I think, overall right now, we're just trying to learn and grow as a team, and if we get in those games, we'll be excited,” Symons said.
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