LANGLEY, B.C. – Playing the No. 3-ranked team in the country, Trinity Western went toe-to-toe with UBC in the Spartans home-opener but ultimately lost 1-0 after the Thunderbirds scored the game-winner in the third period Friday at the Langley Events Centre. 

UBC's Vanessa Schaefer tallied the game's lone gola at 4:12 of the final frame to improve the T-Birds record to 3-2 on the season. 

TWU's Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 24 saves for the Spartans, who fall to 0-3. 

The Spartans countered with 14 shots, with UBC's Elise Hugens earning the shutout. 

Both teams were 0 for 3 on the power play. 

QUOTABLE
Peter Hay, TWU Head Coach
"When we prepare in practice like we have, we knew that we were going to be competitive today. We asked the players to execute a certain way of playing the game and they did it and I'm really proud of them. Our process looks solid and all our players have bought into it and they care a lot and are committed to seeing it turn into an outcome. We need to stick to the process and hopefully the goals start going in. For right now, we're in a good place and we look forward to playing UBC tomorrow and hopefully we get a few chances that go in.

"When you can hold UBC to under 25 shots, which we did, that's a sign of a good structure and buy-in from players to play a certain way. We didn't give UBC a ton of chances, which was part of our game plan. I'm really proud of how Fawcett played. When UBC did get the chances, she provided a calming presence. She always keeps us in the game and gives us a chance to win. We can't ask goalies to be perfect and we need to do something for her by scoring some goals."

NEXT UP
TWU and UBC play again with the rematch at UBC on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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