Zach Conard/UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (9-2-3) closed out their 2017 regular season in winning fashion by dispatching the Trinity Western Spartans (10-3-1) 2-0 Saturday at Thunderbird Stadium.
For the second night in a row, the Thunderbirds' offence got off to a lightning start with the first goal of the game coming in the first 10 minutes.
Aman Shergill's fancy footwork was on display early in the game and her scoring was as well. In the eighth minute, Shergill chipped a long shot that dipped down just in time and out of reach from Spartans goalie Christina Oliverio, giving the T-Birds a 1-0 lead.
The first half saw the cross bar getting the best of the Thunderbirds. Jasmine Dhanda's 11th-minute shot went off the corner of the net, while Emma Kallner ricocheted a beautiful free kick off the cross bar in the 16th.
Margaret Hadley scored in the 17th minute when Oliverio spilled a sliding save. The ball fell to the feet of Hadley who easily placed it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
The Spartans backline pairing of Elizabeth Hicks and Carley Willmott made sure to stifle the Thunderbirds attacks during the second half.
The two defenders played off one another, intercepting passes and managing to dispossess the Thunderbirds.
In the 80th minute, the Spartans' offense came to life with a long shot from Danae Derksen that went wide right.
Two more chances came a minute later when Gabi Short's shot was blocked and Bella Roque's follow up header was saved by UBC goalie Marlee Maracle.
During the second half UBC head coach Jesse Symons subbed in a handful of young players to give them time and experience.
They calmly finished off the game, keeping a clean sheet and ending their 2017 season on a high note.
"Another good performance, we started off really well and then controlled the tempo of the game," Symons said. "I think overall it was a really good last weekend heading into next week's playoffs to control our defensive side, but then also look to find some ways to score some goals this weekend."
UBC will return to action in postseason play on Friday. They will play the sixth place finisher in the Canada West's Prairie Division. TWU will have to wait and see who they'll play in the Canada West quarter-finals on Sunday.
PHOTO: Rich Lam/UBC Thunderbirds