VANCOUVER, British Columbia – In a battle of two of the top Canada West teams, the Trinity Western Spartans fell 1-0 to the defending U SPORTS and Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds Saturday night at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, B.C. The loss drops the Spartans to 1-1 in Canada West, while the win moves the Thunderbirds to 2-0.
 
 Scoring the lone goal for the Thunderbirds was Ella Sunde in the 37th minute.
 
TWU third-year keeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) made five saves in the loss, while UBC's Emma Sparrow made one save to earn the shutout win.
 
UP NEXT
TWU will now head home for two non-conference match-ups. The Spartans will host the Seattle Pacific Falcons on Tuesday, August 26, at 2 p.m. (PT) at Willoughby Stadium at the LEC, and the Simon Fraser Red Leafs on Friday, August 29, at 3 p.m. (PT) at Chase Office Field.  TWU's Canada West home opener is against the UBC Okanagan Heat and the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on September 4-5.
 
QUOTABLE
Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach
"Disappointing to be second best for most of the 1st half in key moments.  The second half was better and maybe a little unlucky not to generate a few better chances, but in the end, we didn't give ourselves enough opportunities."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Thunderbirds opened the scoring with Sunde headed in a free kick from Sophie Harrison to put UBC up 1-0 in the 37th minute with her second goal of the season. TWU looked to have tied the match in extra time, but Spartans' first-year defender Rhianna MacDonald (Chilliwack, B.C.)  was called offside on the Spartans' free kick from fourth-year midfielder Erin Stewart (Winnipeg) as the first 45 ended with the Thunderbirds up 1-0. The Thunderbirds had an 8-2 edge in total shots and a 4-0 edge in shots on goal.
 
The Spartans struggled and were unable to mount a sustained attack against the Thunderbirds in the second half. TWU looked for an equalizer late in extra time on two free kicks but were unable to find the back of the UBC net, as the Thunderbirds prevailed 1-0.
 
NOTABLE

• The Thunderbirds outshot the Spartans 16-5 in total shots and 6-1 in shots on goal.
• TWU finished the match with four corners, while UBC finished with five.
• TWU enters 2025 ranked No. 3 in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll. While the UBC Thunderbirds are ranked No. 1.
• TWU finished last season as Canada West Bronze medalist and an overall conference record of 8-4-2. UBC is coming off a perfect season, winning the Canada West championship and back-to-back U SPORTS championships after finishing conference play at 14-0-0.
• The Spartans have a lifetime record of 19-33-12 against UBC. TWU was 0-3 against UBC last year, losing 1-0 in the Canada West semifinals in Calgary during their previous meeting.
• With the win, UBC extends its Canada West conference play winning streak to 20-0. Since the 2022 season, UBC has a conference record of 42-2.
• TWU's last win over UBC was 1-0 (6-5pk) in the 2023 Canada West gold medal match.

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. 
 
-TW-