Varsity Blues fall to UBC Thunderbirds 2-0 in CIS-FHC field hockey championship

TORONTO (CIS) – The UBC Thunderbirds continue to rewrite history as they claimed their fourth-straight McCrae Cup with a 2-0 victory over the previously unbeaten and host Toronto Varsity Blues in the gold-medal game of the 40th CIS-FHC field hockey championship Sunday afternoon at Back Campus Fields.

The T-Birds also add to their own record with a 16th national banner in program history. UBC is now 16-6 all-time in the CIS title match, while Toronto, who is tied with Victoria for second place with 11 national banners, drops to 11-6 in CIS finals.

It was the seventh meeting between UBC and Toronto in the gold-medal game, with UBC now holding a 5-2 advantage.

"It feels really good. I am so proud of the girls," said first-year UBC head coach Robin D'Abreo. "This team has improved so much since we first started. It's absolutely incredible. It's a credit to the girls. They completely bought in to every single thing that the coaching staff put out there."

Fifth-year midfielder Poonam Sandhu of Vancouver scored the game-winner in the 47th minute and becomes the first player to win five CIS field hockey titles. The 2014 CIS all-Canadian was also named a member of the tournament XI all-star team.

"Scoring that goal was the most amazing feeling ever," said Sandhu. "My team played so well, so it was so easy to just put it in for them. Coming into this tournament, we were definitely an underdog because of the age difference. Coming out of last year we lost 11 players and this year we had a really young team but I think we did so well from the beginning of the season to now."

Second-year UBC midfielder Sarah Keglowitsch of Shawnigan Lake, B.C., added an insurance marker for the T-Birds in the 56th minute off a penalty corner opportunity.

The OUA champion Blues, who came into the match with a perfect 17-0-0 record, settle for silver after allowing only one goal in the previous six games.

"I really feel bad for the girls," said U of T head coach John DeSouza, who was named the 2014 CIS coach of the year at Wednesday night's award banquet. "I thought we put everything we could out on the line. It was great season for us and it's tough to lose at home. We were really hoping to write history on our new turf - it just wasn't our day today."

Fourth-year Blues midfielder and 2014 CIS player of the year Amanda Woodcroft of Waterloo, Ont., was named the tournament MVP.

Source: CIS