VANCOUVER – Saturday night's matchup between the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds women's soccer team and the No. 6 Trinity Western Spartans ended it a scoreless draw, giving the T-Birds the Canada West West Division title by two points over the Spartans.

Both clubs battled hard for a crucial win, but stingy defence on both sides of the pitch prevented either squad from finding a goal.

The tie sees the Spartans finish the regular season in second place in the West Division with a 10-1-3 record. The Spartans will now likely host Alberta in the Canada West Regional Playoffs Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at Rogers Field.

TWU, who finished the season riding a 13-game unbeaten streak, has now put together five consecutive years in which it has posted a regular season record with just one loss.

Defence was the name of the game for the entire contest. UBC only managed one shot on net, while TWU generated two.

"I'm disappointed we didn't find another gear and find a little bit more offence tonight to give us a chance to win," said Spartans coach Graham Roxburgh. "I thought UBC defended excellently and probably were the sharper team in the first half. We had to weather a bit of a storm, but I thought late in the first half, we possessed a little more and asked a couple questions.

"Amy Gartke (Edmonton) was excellent and dealt with a couple of their more potent players. Quinn (Hardstaff, Calgary) was great in tidying things up centrally. We just didn't get on the end of anything and we didn't have that final telling pass."

The first 20 minutes of the match hovered around midfield, with neither team providing much room for the other to break through.

TWU goalkeeper Ally Williamson (Langley, B.C.) came up big in the 15th minute, stopping a shot from Shayla Chorney (Vancouver) that seemed destined for the bottom right corner of the net.

The Spartans managed two shots on goal in the 13th and 19th minute, but both smothered by UBC's de Goede, who finished Canada West play as the league leader in shutouts with seven.

Momentum shifted in favour of the Thunderbirds midway through the first half. They had three corner kicks and managed three shots between the 25th and 29th minutes, but failed to land one on goal.

Stellar anticipation and blocking from the Spartans' defence also disrupted a majority of UBC's shot and pass attempts within the TWU zone.

TWU brought pressure in added time in the first half, culminating with Jenaya Robertson's (Cloverdale, B.C.) blast sailing just over the crossbar.

The Spartans spent the first 10 minutes of the second half predominately in UBC's end, but despite three corner kicks in less than a minute, they weren't able to produce any meaningful chances.

"In the second half, I don't really remember them really threatening our goal, but we didn't really generate anything that gave them trouble," Roxburgh said. "But I was pleased with the kids. They battled hard and kept pressing. I thought our work rate in the second half got better."

Game Notes: The winner of next Friday's regional playoff game will advance to the Canada West Final 6, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed in the East Region…UBC will host the 2016 CIS Women's Soccer Championship Nov. 12-15 at Thunderbird Stadium.

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