CALGARY – Five different players found the back of the net as the UBC Thunderbirds took down the Calgary Dinos field hockey team 5-0 Saturday in the season opener at Hawkings Field.

"We had a solid three weeks of preseason," Dinos head coach Jenn Beagan said. "The team worked really hard and we're working through some new tactics and some new structures." 

"This is a really experienced UBC team, and we're very young, so it's going to take some time for us to work through some of the details, build some confidence, build some belief in ourselves, but I'm pretty happy with how things went today."

It took until the 14th minute of the game for the Thunderbirds to make the first mark on the pitch and set the tone. Midfielder Laurien Bruijning took a chance at the Dinos' defence before being rewarded with potting one behind the goal line.  

The second quarter was where the visitors really took a hit on the home team, notching goals in the 23rd and 25th minutes to bring them up to a 3-0 lead.

The T-Birds brought that same energy into the third quarter when Mikayla Stelling started off strong with a drive through the shooting circle and gaining another tally in the 33rd minute. 

Regardless of their deficit, the Dinos continued to hold strong defensively and work hard offensively, resulting in a few solid chances throughout the second half but, with no luck, remained scoreless on their side.

"It was great to see some of our youngsters out there receiving balls, moving forward, making some good two-on-one plays, and taking some attacking risks," Beagan said.

"We had some great moments on defence, like coordinated defending, some good deep defending, and there's a lot to build on there. We'll have a look at some of our press structures, some of our defending, and make sure that we've got everybody knowing what their role is on the field and knowing what their job is to get done."

The Dinos will get another chance against the Thunderbirds Sunday when the ball drops at 11 a.m. again from Hawkings Field.

SCORING SUMMARY
UBC – Laurien Bruijning, FG, 14', 1-0 UBC
UBC – Sydney Le, FG, 23', 2-0 UBC
UBC – Thora Rae, FG, 25', 3-0 UBC
UBC – Mikayla Stelling, PC, 33', 4-0 UBC
UBC – Rayna Dhaliwal, FG, 59', 5-0 UBC

GOALKEEPERS
UBC – Robyn Goh, 30MP, 0GA
UBC – Pascale Pottier, 30MP, 0GA
CGY – Madison Forest, 29MP, 3GA
CGY – Micaela Camacho, 31MP, 2GA

CARDS
VIC – Riley Brown, GC, 59'
CGY – Victoria Zaccagnini, GC, 47'

-UC-