Box Score WINNIPEG – Coming off a huge 10-0 win against the Winnipeg Wesmen the night prior, the No. 1 nationally ranked UBC Thunderbirds continued their offensive momentum to seal a 2-0 win against the Manitoba Bisons Saturday night at Investors Group Field. The win improved their record to 6-0, while the Bisons fell to 2-6.
Despite the score, Bisons keeper
Karina Bagi wrote a story of her own, picking up a program record 17 saves on 19 shots on goal, which edged out the team's previous record of 15 set by Madison Wilford in 2015. She now has 192 saves in her career, just 11 shy of Chloe Werle (2011-15) for second in program history.
"It means a lot to me. I couldn't have done it without my teammates," Bagi said. "Going forward, it's going to set the tone. I think we all showed up tonight, and we all showed up this weekend. Going into the second half of the season, I think this is a good way to start us off."
Bagi stopped eight saves in the first half, including a number from in close. Her best stop came on a partial breakaway just under 30 minutes into the contest to keep the game scoreless entering the second half.
Manitoba's back line, including defenders
Ava Memka and
Evelyn Lekivetz, along with midfielder
Jessica Tsai and fullback
Breyanna Johnston-Krulicki, were also steady. In the second half, Johnston-Krulicki stopped two different shots from finding the back of the net following a corner, while Bagi also made two clutch saves in the chaos.
On four different occasions, Bagi steered away UBC strikes from close distance, using her length and experience to frustrate the top-ranked team in the country.
"I feel so safe with Karina in the back," added Memka. "I am so incredibly proud of how she played today and the whole team in general. We had our chamces, and I know we can bounce back next weekend."
Consistent pressure resulted in the T-Birds cracking the score board twice in the final 45. Katalin Tolnai would end up finding the back of the net in the 58
th minute, connecting with a cross from Nisa Reehal, and burying it deep her sixth goal of the season and the first goal of the match.
Moments later, the Bisons would get their best opportunity of the night – as forward
Janelle Chomini raced up the right sideline and launched a shot that was centimeters away from being an equalizer.
Reehal would seal the deal for the Thunderbirds in the 80
th minute, picking up a clean goal off of a crafty assist by Tolani.
Manitoba hits the road for their next game against Victoria on Friday, September 22
nd.
