VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans fell 4-0 to the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds in game one of Friday afternoon's Canada West semifinal matchup at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, B.C. The win puts the Thunderbirds up 1-0 in the best-of-three semi-final, with a berth at the U SPORTS championship and the Canada West gold medal match on the line.
 
Scoring for the Thunderbirds were Ilona Markova, Jaylyn Morris, Vanessa Schaefer, and Mia Bierd.
 
Trinity Western fifth-year goalie Kate Fawcett (Tottenham, Ont.) made 10 saves, and second-year goalie Olivia Davidson (Edmonton, Alta.) made 13 saves in the Spartans' loss. UBC's Elise Hugens made 18 saves in the Thunderbirds' win.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds will match up again tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, B.C. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The first period began with the Thunderbirds taking an early lead, as Ilona Markova scored the opening goal at 7:23, assisted by Cassidy Rhodes. Shortly after, UBC extended its lead to 2–0 when Jaylyn Morris found the net at 8:40, with helpers from Ashton Thorpe and Hanna Perrier. Trinity Western faced further pressure after Olivia Leier received a two-minute penalty for bodychecking at 13:28, but they successfully killed the power play without conceding. UBC held a 2–0 advantage at the end of the period. UBC outshot TWU 11-5 in the first period
 
UBC built on its lead in the second period with two goals scored in quick succession. Vanessa Schaefer opened scoring at 9:20, assisted by Grace Elliott and Annalise Wong. Just over two minutes later, Mia Bierd extended the lead to 4–0, assisted by Perrier and Jacquelyn Fleming. The Spartans had opportunities on the power play twice in the period, following penalties on Elle Lorenz and Schaefer of UBC, but were unable to convert. TWU outshot UBC 11-3 in the period.
 
The third period remained scoreless as Trinity Western and UBC engaged in a defensive battle. The Thunderbirds finished the period 0-3 on the powerplay. UBC outshot TWU 13-2.
 
 
NOTABLE

• The Thunderbirds outshot the Spartans 27-18.
• TWU was 0-2 on the power play, while UBC was 0-4.
• The Spartans finished 14-12-2-0 in CW conference play and third place in the West Division of Canada West, while UBC finished 26-2-0-0 in CW conference play and in first place in the West Division of Canada West.
• In their last two meetings, the Spartans lost 4-0 and 4-2 to the Thunderbirds on January 23-24.
• The Spartans are currently 2-30 lifetime against UBC.
• Last week, the Spartans swept the Calgary Dinos, winning 5-1 and 4-2 in the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final, Calgary, Alta.
• The series win was the first playoff series win in the Spartans' history.
• The Thunderbirds enter the series after a bye week as the No. 1 team in Canada West and U SPORTS.

 
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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