FINAL CIS women’s soccer championship: Host T-Birds dominate TWU, claim record sixth CIS banner

VANCOUVER (CIS) – The UBC Thunderbirds stand atop CIS women's soccer for the sixth time in program history, as they claimed the Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy with a 3-0 win over their B.C. rivals, the Trinity Western Spartans, on Sunday evening at Thunderbird Stadium.

UBC forward Jasmin Dhanda was awarded the Gunn Baldursson Memorial Award as the tournament's most valuable player, and alongside teammates, goalkeeper Olivia de Goede, defender Krista Whittaker, and midfielders Kym van Duynhoven and Taylor Shannik, was also named to the championship tournament All-Star team.

A two-goal performance in the first half, with markers from defender Madison Guy and forward Shayla Chorney, combined with a stifling showing from the UBC defence and de Goede, set the T-Birds on the path to victory, with a second-half goal from Shannik providing added insurance.

UBC head coach Marisa Kovacs gave a simple reason for the 'Birds spectacular performance on the biggest stage of the country.

"Belief. From the very beginning, they just believed in themselves, and slowly but surely, win after win, that belief and that confidence just continued to grow, and we're on our home turf," said Kovacs, in her first season at the helm of the T-Birds. "There's nowhere else we would rather be, and it might have been on a bigger stage, but I just wanted it to feel like another game."

With six Gladys Bean Trophy triumphs, UBC, which also blanked Trinity Western 1-0 in last week's Canada West final, now leads its archival by one atop the CIS all-time list. Despite the loss, the Spartans established a record of their own as they became the first team to appear in four straight national finals.

UBC nearly opened the scoring at the six-minute mark, after midfielder van Duynhoven got behind Spartans goalkeeper Ally Williamson on a free kick from defender Aman Shergill and deflected it home. However, the apparent marker was negated on an offside call.

After dominating the run of play in the early going, UBC opened the scoring for real in the 18th minute. A Shannik corner kick bounced around in the Spartans' 18-yard box, but Trinity Western was unable to clear it, and the ball found its way to Guy, who volleyed it home from 10 yards out.

Jenaya Robertson nearly got the Spartans on the board in the 30th minute, as she did well to slide and deflect a ball on de Goede with a defender in pursuit. The T-Birds keeper made an aggressive stop, charging out to meet Robertson's attempt.

Off that same stop, UBC quickly sprung forward in transition, and, at the other end of the field, Dhanda made a terrific cross in to Chorney, who managed to get her foot on the ball and redirect it past Williamson, doubling the UBC lead in the 31st minute.

UBC's backline was absolutely dominant in the first half, as outside of the Robertson opportunity, Trinity Western never really threatened, finishing with just two shot attempts, and one on goal, in the opening 45 minutes.

Eleven minutes into the second half, Krista Gommeringer got one of Trinity Western's best chances of the contest, as the veteran midfielder found a little space just inside the 18-yard box and got a hard shot off, only to be stymied by a diving de Goede.

The T-Birds essentially sealed the result in the 65st minute, as Williamson misplayed a corner from Shannik, and the ball deflected into the Spartan net, putting the 'Birds up 3-0.

"Credit to my side, I think even after yesterday, with the emotion of going that late, we probably didn't have as much reserve in the tank," said Trinity Western head coach Graham Roxburgh. "Again, credit to them, they were excellent, but I think that if we hadn't given away the second goal, 1-0 at halftime could have made things different. It's a game of inches, because about 30 seconds before their second goal, we should have scored, or at least we were within inches. But, I mean, they deserved to win today."

The 2016 CIS women's soccer championships will be held at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S.

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS

Gunn Baldursson Memorial Award (Tournament MVP): Jasmin Dhanda – UBC
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Cape Breton

Tournament All-Stars:
Goalkeeper: Olivia de Goede – UBC
Defence: Amy Gartke – TWU
Defence: Krista Whittaker – UBC
Defence: Amelie Tremblay - SHE
Defence: Marie-Christine Gauthier - LAV
Midfield: Stephanie Chin - TWU
Midfield: Kym van Duynhoven – UBC
Midfield: Taylor Shannik – UBC
Midfield: Gabrielle Lapointe - LAV
Forward: Jasmin Dhanda – UBC
Forward: Marie-Ève Jacques – SHE

SCORING SUMMARY:

UBC: 2-1: 3
TWU: 0-0: 0

First Half:
1. UBC Madison Guy (1), 18th minute
2. UBC Shayla Chorney (1), (Jasmin Dhanda) 31st

Second Half:
1. UBC Taylor Shannik (1), 65th

Goalkeepers:
UBC: Olivia de Goede (W, 0 GA, 3 saves, 90:00, 3-0)
TWU: Ally Williamson (L, 3 GA, 4 saves, 90:00, 2-1)

Team Stats
Shots: UBC 11, TWU 6
Shots on net: UBC 7, TWU 3
Corners: UBC 6, TWU 4
Offsides: UBC 3, TWU 0
Fouls: UBC 11, TWU 10
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Players of the game:
UBC: Jasmin Dhanda
TWU: Vanessa Kovacs

SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times PACIFIC TIME)

Thursday, Nov. 12
11:00 Quarter-final 1: Laval 1, Wilfrid Laurier 0
13:30 Quarter-final 2: Trinity Western 2, Cape Breton 0
16:30 Quarter-final 3: Sherbrooke 2, Queen's 1 (4-3 kicks)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: UBC 1, Calgary 0

Friday, Nov. 13
11:00 Consolation 1: Cape Breton 2, Wilfrid Laurier 0
13:30 Consolation 2: Queen's 1, Calgary 0 (4-2 kicks)

Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 5th-place game: Queen's 2, Cape Breton 1 (4-2 kicks)
13:30 Semifinal 1: Trinity Western 2, Laval 1 (9-8 kicks)
16:30 Semifinal 2: UBC 2, Sherbrooke 0

Sunday, Nov. 15
13:30 Bronze medal: Laval 2, Sherbrooke 1
16:30 Championship final: UBC 3, Trinity Western 0