Women’s soccer ends season to claim Pacific Division title

After picking up two wins on the road against Calgary and Lethbridge last week, UBC women’s soccer finished the regular season at home with a win against the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades and a tie against the Trinity Western University Spartans.

“I thought we had a great season ... I thought our girls did a great job. We battled right through and we came out on the top,” said UBC forward Amrit Berar.

The Thunderbirds won the penultimate game against the Cascades by a score of 2-1. Forwards Jasmin Dhanda and Shayla Chorney produced the two goals for the T-Birds. Dhanda finishes the season with eight goals and three assists to remain as UBC’s top scorer.

After beating UFV, UBC’s grand finale ended with a 0-0 tie against the Spartans. 

Strong defense on both sides of the field helped to keep the game scoreless. Chorney produced the only shot on goal for UBC during the 15th minute. The only two shots on goal that Trinity Western had during the game were during the 13th and 19th minutes, both of which UBC goalkeeper Olivia de Goede stopped.

Berar attributes the T-Birds’ defensive capability to the efforts of the midfielders.

“Our midfielders did a great job in getting up and we had the majority of the 50-50s. So I think that was a huge thing for us,” said Berar.

While neither side generated many scoring opportunities, both teams did have their moments of momentum. Between the 25th and 29th minutes, the T-Birds managed three shots and three corner kicks. The Spartans’ offense was strongest during the early stages of the second half when they won three corner kicks in one minute.

“I think we made chances ... We made quite a few shots on frame. [The Spartans] had a really quality keeper and we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” said Marissa Kovacs, UBC's head coach.

Although the Thunderbirds did not score a single goal, Kovacs was still impressed with the result of the game.

“The goal alluded us today, but we’re glad that we had a clean sheet. We had another shutout and overall we got the results that we needed,” said Kovacs.

UBC finishes the regular season with a record of 11-1-2 and now advances to the playoffs with a first-place spot in the Pacific Division. The team will play its first playoff game on the home field against the fourth-seed University of Victoria Vikings. 

Trinity Western and UFV are second and third place in the Pacific Division respectively and will also be entering the playoffs.

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