VANCOUVER - The top-seeded UBC Thunderbirds captured their record 11th CIS women’s field hockey championship with an inspired 3-1 victory over the third-seeded Victoria Vikes Sunday afternoon at Wright Field in Vancouver.
The host squad put together a dominant first half performance, scoring three goals in the opening 27 minutes, en route to their sixth CIS banner in the last nine years. The T-Birds now have 11 McCrae Cup titles to their name, one more than their Island rivals, who won five in seven seasons from 1991-97.
"I think the first half was the best hockey I've seen the girls play," said UBC head coach Hash Kanjee, in his 14th season. "They were stringing passes together, they were thinking, they were moving off the ball really well, and it looked like everybody was on the same page. “It came down to the team that wanted it more, and we wanted it more in the first half."
Katie MacPherson (New Westminster, BC) got the host side going eight minutes in, converting on a perfectly executed short corner. Leigh Sandison (Mississauga, Ont.) received the pass at the top of the circle and moved it across to her left to Christine De Pape (Burlington, Ont.), who quickly located an open MacPherson off the left post for a one-timer. Jessie Denys (Kelowna), known for her hard shot, served as a decoy on the play to create time and space.
“That first goal was just an absolute killer,” said Kanjee. “It was a real confidence builder.”
Sandison scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 20th minute, putting the T-Birds ahead 2-0 on a brilliant solo effort. The UBC captain streaked in from the right side, eluded a Victoria defender with some crafty stick work, and buried a bullet past Danielle Wilson (Calgary) and into the upper left half of the net.
"We knew that we had to come out hard right out of the gate," said an elated Sandison, who was named to the Tournament XI along with De Pape and MVP Denys. "We knew we could play with Victoria, so it just really came down to us coming out strong. We played as if it was 0-0 the entire game, even when we were up. We knew they'd come with everything they had, but we pulled through and played a smart game."
The T-Birds continued to press throughout the half, finding an insurance marker in the 27th minute to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Kim Aldridge (Richmond) tallied the third goal, jamming home a loose ball that had trickled through Wilson after MacPherson got off a backhander on a partial breakaway.
The Vikes managed to get one back early in the second half when Perri Espeseth (Duncan) rifled a shot low left on a short corner in the 41st minute to cut the UBC advantage to 3-1. It was too little too late for the Vikes, however, as the T-Birds defence stepped up to thwart Victoria's efforts on the attack.
"UBC played a brilliant first half," said UVic head coach Lynne Beecroft. "They moved the ball extremely well and they dissected our defence. I think we played a much better second half, much more intense. I am really proud of the kids. I only wish we could have had 70 minutes of hockey like that."
Katie Graham (North Vancouver) went the distance between the posts for UBC and Wilson did the same for the Vikes.
Emma Carbery (Victoria), Katie Rushton (Victoria), Ali Lee (Victoria), Mary Glen (Vancouver) and Thea Culley (Rossland) were all Vikes named to the Tournament XI. Culley tied with MacPherson to lead the championship in goals with four.
Notes: The T-Birds wrap up tournament play with a 4-0-1 mark while Victoria finishes 3-1-1 … The victory also gave UBC a 2-1-3 edge over the Vikes in head-to-head play this season. Victoria last won the national championship in 2002. Five of UBC’s last six CIS titles have come at the expense of their Island rivals … The CIS banner is the 67th in UBC school history, second only to the University of Toronto … The second-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues took home bronze in the early game with a 2-1 victory in shootout strokes over defending national champions the Alberta Pandas.

Scoring Summary:
VIC 0-1—1
UBC 3-0—3

8th, UBC, Katey MacPherson, PC
20th, UBC, Leigh Sandison
27th, UBC, Kim Aldridge
41st, UVic, Perri Espeseth, PC

Goaltenders
UBC: Katie Graham (W, 70:00, 1 GA, 3-0-0)
UVIC: Danielle Wilson (L, 70:00, 3 GA, 3-1-1)

MVP: Jessie Denys, UBC
 
Tournament XI All-Stars
Emma Carberry, Victoria
Thea Culley, Victoria
Jessie Denys, UBC
Christine De Pape, UBC
Mary Glen, Victoria
Malinda Hapuarachchi, Toronto
Bunny Hughes, Alberta
Ali Lee, Victoria
Erin Mason, Alberta
Katie Rushton, Victoria
Leigh Sandison, UBC