LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans will advance to next week's U SPORTS championship as the Canada West silver medalists after a 2-0 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday afternoon at Ken Woods Field in Vancouver, B.C.
 
Scoring for the Thunderbirds were Sienna Gibson (45+) and Maddy Norman (47).
 
Third-year keeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) made four saves in the Spartans' loss, while UBC's Dakota Beckett made five saves in the Thunderbirds' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Thunderbirds will both advance to the U SPORTS championship next week, November 6-9, at Ron Joyce Stadium at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont. U SPORTS will announce the seeding and schedule on Sunday night.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had an 8-6 advantage in total shots in the opening half and were nearly rewarded in the 35th minute. TWU fourth-year forward Holland Stiel (Okotoks, Alta.) was fouled in the UBC penalty box, and the Spartans were awarded a PK. TWU third-year forward Mansha Sidhu (Surrey, B.C.) took the penalty, but her shot went off the post as the two teams remained scoreless. The Thunderbirds opened the scoring in the 45th minute. TWU's Pahal made a big save on UBC's Ava Alexander, but the Thunderbirds' Gibson was able to follow up and find the back of the net to put UBC up 1-0 at the end of the opening half.
 
UBC started the second half on the front foot and made it a two-goal lead in the 47th minute. The Thunderbirds' Norman found the back of the Spartans' net on a counterattack to make it 2-0 for UBC. The Spartans would push forward over the final minutes of the match, outshooting the Thunderbirds 8-6 in the final 45, but were unable to solve Beckett as UBC took gold with the 2-0 win.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans outshot the Thunderbirds 16-12 in total shots, while UBC had a 6-5 edge in shots on goal
• UBC had a 7-2 edge in corner kicks
• TWU is now 19-35-12 lifetime against UBC. The Spartans' last win over the Thunderbirds was 6-5 in PKs (0-0) in the 2023 Canada West Gold medal match.
• The Spartans' last goal against the Thunderbirds was in a 2-1 loss in the Canada West championship on November 5, 2022, a 19-1 advantage for UBC.
• The Spartans advanced to the gold medal match with a 1-0 win over the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West semifinal Thursday night at Ken Woods Field in Vancouver, B.C.
• The Thunderbirds advanced with a 2-1 win over the Mount Royal Cougars Thursday afternoon at Ken Woods Field in Vancouver, B.C. The lone goal by the Cougars was the first goal the Thunderbirds had given up in Canada West conference or playoff matches this season.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and 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 33 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 U 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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