VANCOUVER, B.C. ­– The Trinity Western Spartans were hosted by no. 9 UBC on Friday, falling 8-3 at the hands of the Thunderbirds.
 
TWU's (2-8-0) goals were scored by Neisha Germann (Lloydminster, Alta.), Jordyn Matthews (Okotoks, Alta.), and Brooklyn Anderson (Shellbrook, Sask.).
 
Rylind MacKinnon and Mackenzie Kordic were UBC's top performers of the day, taking home three points each in UBC's (8-3-0) eighth victory of the year.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Thunderbirds struck quickly as Rylind MacKinnon got one past Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) 2:49 into the first period. Although the Spartans were caught on their heels early, Neisha Germann came right back with a goal of her own less than a minute after UBC took the lead. With the game tied, UBC reasserted themselves, scoring two more markers to end the first period at a 3-1 advantage for the Thunderbirds.
 
UBC scored two more goals in the first half of the second period of play, bringing the game to a 5-1 lead for the Thunderbirds. With only 16 seconds remaining in the period, Brooklyn Anderson gave the Spartans some hope, scoring a beautiful breakaway effort to close the period at a 5-2 score line.
 
After yet another quick goal off the third period's dawn by UBC, the hope sparked by Anderson's goal was quickly diminished, giving way for the Thunderbirds to score another unanswered one late in the period. Jordyn Matthews scored her second goal of the season off a feed from Olivia Leier (Regina) to wrap up TWU's scoring on the day.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans struggled mightily on special teams in Friday's game. UBC's power play was strong, going 5/9 on the game, while the Spartans couldn't muster up a power play marker on the four chances they were handed.
• Shots favoured the Thunderbirds 43-16. Although the shot tally tilted heavily in UBC's direction, the Spartans were able to maximize their chances with their vastly improved scoring touch. In their inaugural Canada West season, the Spartans have looked significantly better with each game they have played so far.

 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Jean Laforest
"Definitely not the type of outcome we wanted. They scored eight goals the last time we saw them, and they scored eight again today. It was a lopsided game when we played them last in October, but that wasn't the case today in terms of momentum. We scored three goals, and I thought we had them hemmed in at times. We found ourselves on the penalty kill a lot today, so there were some goals our team would've loved to take back.
 
"It wasn't a lack of effort, and our execution was better than the first series we played them, but it wasn't the defensive output we wanted today. Offensively, it was the second most goals we scored this year, so we take that away as a positive. It is hard because we talk a lot about moral victories, but they don't add up to points.
 
"We see progress in our inaugural season, and we saw that today, but we aren't happy with the score."
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will rematch the Thunderbirds tomorrow (3 p.m.) at the UBC Thunderbird Arena.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
 
-TW-