CALGARY – The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds inched closer to their 10th consecutive Canada West field hockey championship Saturday afternoon, defeating the University of Calgary Dinos 7-0.

With the victory, UBC opens up a five-point lead in the standings over second place Victoria with three games to play. Should the T-Birds defeat the Dinos again Saturday, they would clinch the Canada West banner once again, rendering next weekend's series with Victoria only preparation for the CIS championship, for which both teams have already qualified.

The loss drops the Dinos to 0-6-1 on the campaign.

Hanna Haughn and Sara McManus had two goals apiece for the Thunderbirds, the defending CIS champions, while goalkeeper Bea Francisco kept the goose egg on the scoreboard for the Dinos en route to her first shutout of the season. UBC opened up a 3-0 lead in just 15 minutes with Haughn, McManus, and Cassie Tayler beating Dinos netminder Sydney Hamm. After the break, a penalty stroke was awarded to McManus, who notched her second of the day in the 37th minute, while Haughn followed up with her second tally less than 10 minutes later.

Katherine Gillis and Kathryn Jameson rounded out the scoring for UBC (5-0).

For the youthful Dinos, it was another learning experience against a deep Thunderbirds team loaded with national team players – and head coach Jenn Swagar pointed to the mental side of the game.

“Of course they were better than us technically, but it's really the mental side of the game we're working on,” said Swagar. “These are the games where you have to look at the character within the team. We didn't play with any purpose. It's that mental acuity to get yourself out of that situation where you know you're overmatched but you still play with passion and purpose. It's the desire to want to win, and that's something we're teaching the team right now.”

The Dinos close their 2012 season Sunday afternoon in the rematch against UBC, beginning at 1 p.m.

FINAL
UBC    3  4 – 7
Calgary    0  0 – 0

SCORERS
UBC – Hannah Haughn, FG (2')
UBC – Sara McManus, PC (12')
UBC – Cassie Tayler, FG (15')
UBC – McManus PS (37')
UBC – Haughn, FG (45')
UBC – Katherine Gillis, FG (51')
UBC – Kathryn Jameson, FG (60')

GOALKEEPERS
CGY – Sydney Hamm – 70 MP, 7 GA
UBC – Bea Francisco – 70 MP, 0 GA, SO

-UC-