VANCOUVER BC: It’s Danielle Steer’s world and we’re all living in it. The UBC Thunderbirds continue their undefeated season off of a massive 5 goal weekend from their star striker, easily downing their sister school in the UBO Heat.
Here’s how the weekend went for the UBC Women’s soccer team.
Game 1, October 8
The first game kicked off on a beautiful Friday afternoon, the sun beginning to set and basking the stadium in an orange tint. Right off the bat, the Thunderbirds came out fast. They controlled the possession and better chances, getting back to their dominant playstyle seen against TRU.
It was in the 14th minute when Sophie Damian fought off two defenders, sending a ball into the box that Steer got her foot on. She made no mistake with the finish, firing it past the sprawling Molly Race to give the T-Birds the early lead
The T-Birds kept the foot on the gas, continuing to pressure the Heat. It all paid off, as Vanessa Tome’s pass gave Steer a moment to turn, rifling her second past the keeper in the 40th.
Their dominance continued into the second half, a top to bottom performance that was sure to please head coach Jesse Symons. In the 68th, Steer broke in on goal again, before getting hauled down in the box. Of course, who else were they going to give the kick to?
Topping off the hat trick with style, the Thunderbirds saw out the rest of the game with no problems. Emily Moore and Sarah Johns split the clean sheet, while the offense and defense did their parts, conceding merely two shots while putting 15 on goal themselves.
Game 2, October 9
The second game was in completely different conditions, torrential rain and miserable weather on a Saturday. What was the same though was Steer’s red hot play. In the 7th minute, she broke in on goal in what has now become a common occurrence, slotting in Sophia Ferreira’s pass for her 4th goal of the weekend.
UBCO took the goal on the chin though, as they began to respond with some chances of their own. The Heat pushed back, testing the T-Bird defence. Their best chance came in the 26th minute when an Erica Lampert effort was tipped past the post by goalkeeper Sarah Johns.
However, the Thunderbirds quickly put their insurance marker on the board. Sophie Damian struck a shot against the right post in the 34th minute, but to the horror of the UBCO defence, Steer was the first one to the rebound and easily slotted home her second of the game.
It was only 6 minutes later when UBC struck again. With the defence collapsing around her, Steer found an open teammate in Vanessa Tome, turning and striking one into the corner to go up 3-0 in the 40th minute.
The second half opened up much more than the first, but the Thunderbirds still managed to strike just before the final whistle. Jade Taylor-Ryan found the bouncing ball in the box, slamming it home to finish scoring on the night. UBC took an emphatic 4-0 win over their sister school, back-to-back clean sheets for the defence, and a massive showing by Steer to help topple the Heat.
With the 5 goals this weekend, Steer moves into a tie for first in the golden boot race with Montana Leonard of Calgary.
The Thunderbirds return to action next week for their final home games of the year. They take on the Trinity Western Spartans on October 15th and 16th, with kickoff set for 5:30 pm.
Cover Photo: Stanley Lee (49 Sports)