Sunday afternoon at Masich Place Stadium, the UNBC Timberwolves (0-6-0) wrapped up their weekend with a 5-0 defeat to the undefeated UBC Thunderbirds (6-0-0).
It was another remarkable performance from TWolves goalkeeper Johanna Rathke, who set a new season-high with 19 saves, bringing her weekend total to a staggering 36 stops against the reigning national champions.
UBC's attack was once again led by Holly Whelan, who recorded two goals and an assist. Ella Sunde chipped in with a goal and an assist, while Victoria Conkhite and Sienna Gibson also found the scoresheet. The T-Birds' goalkeeping tandem of Emma Sparrow and Ashleigh Ramsay combined for the clean sheet.
Much like Friday, UNBC opened organized and disciplined defensively. Rathke turned aside three dangerous early chances, while veteran defender Kambria Mellum fearlessly blocked multiple quality looks to keep the game scoreless through the opening 10 minutes.
In the 11th minute, however, UBC broke through. A quick combination play allowed Whelan to drive a low ball into the area, where a deflection fell kindly to Conkhite, who buried it from close range.
UBC then struck twice in under a minute. In the 23rd, Whelan finished off a clever setup from Taiya Dennehy for her third of the season. Moments later, Gibson converted in transition, slotting home her third of the campaign off a perfectly timed pass from Sunde.
Before halftime, UBC added a fourth. In the 40th minute, a shot rattled off the crossbar, with the rebound landing at the feet of Sunde, who calmly tapped in her fifth of the year to make it 4-0.
Off the bench, Maddy Heal provided an immediate spark for UNBC, pressing the T-Birds' backline and forcing moments of discomfort, but UBC weathered the pressure and carried the lead into halftime, having generated 14 shots — 10 on target — in the opening 45.
Six minutes into the second half, Whelan secured her brace and her third point of the match, extending UBC's advantage to 5-0.
From there, all eyes were on Rathke. With every acrobatic stop, she edged closer to a Canada West single-game saves record. Ultimately, her 19-save effort fell just two shy of Jordan Hall's program-best 21 saves set in 2012 — but capped a phenomenal weekend between the pipes.
Next up for the Timberwolves is a home clash with UBCO on Friday at 5:30 PM.
