Vancouver, BC – UBC first-year head coach Robin D'Abreo will have to wait another day to get his first CIS victory as the UBC Thunderbirds tied the visiting Victoria Vikes 1-1 on Sept. 20 at UBC's Wright Field. With the tie the Vikes remain undefeated with a 2-0-1 record, while the Birds are currently 0-0-1. The new-look T-Birds enter this year's season as the three-time CIS defending national champions, a feat no other CIS team has managed until last season.
Third-year team Canada standout Hannah Haughn scored for the T-Birds early in the second half putting in a rebound on a penalty corner. Third-year Vikes forward Marin Davidson tied the game up late in the second half, also from a penalty corner option.
Besides several long-range shots and scrambles in front of the net, the first half saw little action as far as scoring chances. One particular play highlighted the first half when goalkeeper Lauren Logush, a member of Canada's national team, made a stellar save with five minutes remaining in the half after a shot was deflected in front.
After some sustained pressure a third of the way into the second half, the Thunderbirds got a penalty corner where Haughn made no mistake on the rebound after initially starting the play.
Meghan Hayden had an opportunity to put the Thunderbirds up by two on a breakaway but was denied by Victoria goalkeeper Larissa Piva. On the team's second penalty corner of the half, the Thunderbirds were once again stopped by Piva and the Vikes defence.
Victoria scored the equalizer with under three minutes remaining in the game off a well-executed penalty corner which resulted in Davidson easily scoring into an empty net.
With a tie in their opening game, the Thunderbirds are 0-1-0 while the Victoria Vikes remain undefeated with a record of 2-0-1 after opening their season with a pair of wins a weekend prior against the Calgary Dinos."I was really pleased with how the girls competed hard today for a full 70 minutes," said Vikes women's field hockey head coach Lynne Beecroft, who enters her 31st season. "We will definitely look to build on our performance for tomorrow's game."
Both teams will have a quick turn around and be back in action for a Sunday matinee at 1:00 pm at Wright Field as the Thunderbirds seek their first win of the 2014 season. SCORING SUMMARY
UBC: 1 – 0 : 1
UVIC: 0 – 1 : 1
GOAL SCORERS
UBC: Hannah Haughn
UVIC: Marin Davidson
GOAL KEEPERS
UBC: Lauren Logush, 1 GA, 70:00 played
Vic: Larissa Piva, 1 GA, 70:00 played
