CALGARY – A penalty-corner goal in the second quarter and a scramble in the circle in the third were enough for the UBC Thunderbirds to down the University of Calgary Dinos women's field hockey team 2-0 on Sunday at Hawkings Field.

The result pushes Calgary to 0-4 on the season, while the T-Birds improved to 2-0.

"Today was a big change compared to yesterday," said Dinos head coach Jenn Wishart. "We adapted some things and we executed quite well on them. It was more competitive and a closer game so that was exciting to see."

The game was also Senior Day for the Dinos, who celebrated their graduating players – captain Elliot Kellough, Maya Doman and Isabella Green – in their final home game of the season.

"Being a Dino is truly the greatest experience of my entire life and I'll hold this experience so close to my heart for the rest of my life," said Kellough. "I've gotten so much out of being a Dino, probably more than the average person, but it's just been incredible here. I love my team, I love the staff, we are so well supported and I'm very sad to be leaving."

Added Wishart, "They've all made their impact in a variety of ways. We've been lucky to spend the last five years with all of them. To see them as they entered when they were 18 and now to see where they're at, it's been an awesome progression and we'll miss them a lot."

The Dinos had the better of the opening quarter, earning a penalty corner early and spending much of the period at UBC's end. The T-Birds didn't put a decent shot on net until late in the quarter, and UBC goalkeeper Kaelen Uy kicked away a Calgary chance with just under two minutes left to keep the game scoreless.

Calgary came out firing in the second, with several chances off a penalty corner in the first minute, but UBC's goalkeeper swap proved useful as Robyn Goh turned each of them aside. Dinos goalkeeper Madison Forest answered with a sliding save with 6:20 left in the quarter. Less than a minute later, UBC broke the deadlock when Sukhman Hundal's shot off a penalty corner snuck past Forest to give the Thunderbirds a 1-0 lead.

The Dinos continued to play strong in the third quarter to keep the ball out of the net and earned another penalty corner, but UBC's defence stood tall to hold the lead. The T-Birds doubled their lead with 2:52 left in the third quarter when Mackenna Brown found the ball in a scramble in front of the Calgary net, with players from both teams sprawling before it crossed the goal line. The game grew increasingly physical through the middle quarters, with UBC's Shannon Stelling picking up two green cards and a yellow card, while Calgary's Maia McGillivray and Kellough were each shown a green card of their own.

Forest kicked off the fourth quarter with a big save, followed by a series of stops midway through the quarter before the Dinos' defence cleared the ball on a UBC penalty corner. Calgary pulled Forest with a few minutes remaining in search of a goal, but the 2-0 score held and the Thunderbirds took home their second win of the weekend.

"It's definitely a shift playing somewhere else," Kellough said of the Dinos' upcoming road trip. "But when we're all together we can lean on each other in those moments. Playing away is a lot of fun, we get to compete hard on their turf and winning on someone else's turf is a pretty good feeling too."

The Dinos will head into a bye week before returning to action Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4, when they travel to face the Victoria Vikes.

UBC, meanwhile, will also make the trip to Victoria, playing the Vikes on Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27.

SCORING SUMMARY
UBC – Sukhman Hundal, PC, 26', 1-0 UBC
UBC – Mackenna Brown, FG, 43', 2-0 UBC

GOALKEEPERS
CGY - Madison Forest, 58MP, 2GA
UBC – Robyn Goh, 30 MP, 0GA
UBC – Kaelen Uy, 30 MP, 0GA

CARDS
UBC – Shannon Stelling, GC, 2'
UBC – Shannon Stelling, GC, 35'
CGY -  Maia McGillivray, GC, 38'
UBC – Shannon Stelling, YC, 41'
CGY - Elliot Kellough, GC, 44'

-UC-