UBC women’s soccer is heading to the Canada West Select Six tournament after a second-half comeback against the University of Alberta Pandas in the Canada West quarter-finals on Saturday, October 28.
Though the Pandas had a 2-0 lead going into the second half, UBC’s Aman Shergill scored a late hat trick to push UBC past the third-ranked Edmonton side.
Alberta’s Aly Parth opened the scoring in the 18th minute, pinpointing a penalty kick past UBC keeper Marlee Maracle and into the bottom left corner of the net.
Just 15 minutes later, the Pandas doubled their lead as midfielder Morgan Corbett got on the end of a corner kick taken by Parth, directing the ball into the back of the net.
The 2-0 score in favour of Alberta would stand until the half-time whistle, leaving UBC with a mountain to climb in the second half of the game.
It would only take 15 of those minutes for UBC to rise to the challenge, as Shergill notched three goals in quick succession.
Shergill’s first came in the 54th minute as she rocketed the ball from the 18-yard line. The ball bounced past Alberta’s keeper Jamie Misiaszek, cutting the Pandas' lead in half.
Just two minutes later, Shergill scored her second of the match and evened-up the score as she again sent the ball past Misiaszek from outside the 18-yard box.
Finally, Shergill sealed Alberta’s fate in the 69th minute, as she cut into the middle of the pitch and blasted another shot into the Pandas net, this time from 30 yards out.
After that, UBC spent most of the remaining time in the Pandas' half, winding down the clock until the final whistle.
The 3-2 win puts UBC through to the Canada West Select Six coming up this week. There, they will play not only for the conference championship title, but for a spot in the Usport women’s soccer championship held later this month.
The 'Birds will play the University of Manitoba Bisons next in the Canada West Select Six. The match will be played on Thursday November 3 at 4:00 p.m. in Langley, BC.