Defending national champion T-Birds ready for Canada West action this weekend

VANCOUVER – After a historic 2024 season, the UBC Thunderbirds begin their quest for a third straight U SPORTS banner with their 2025 home opener series this weekend. First is a clash with the UFV Cascades on August 22nd, before battling the Trinity Western Spartans on August 23rd.

Nine new faces have joined the team for this year, adding plenty of promising recruits to a battle-tested core. Just six players on the roster are in their fourth or fifth year of eligibility, meaning that there will be plenty of opportunity for younger players to stake their claim to a spot in the lineup.

"This class really has everything you want to help make our team stronger," said head coach Jesse Symons. "Experience at the international level, provincial and national championship experience with their clubs, and players that are ready and willing to jump right in and support this team to continue to be a top contender at the U SPORTS level."

"I have been extremely impressed with how they have come in and are ready to make the jump to the Canada West level. Many will play big roles in their first year with us!"



One of those new T-Birds is Sophie Harrison, who joins UBC from the Arsenal FC academy in her native England. A dynamic defender who can contribute well in possession, she won the academy league and cup double this past season with Arsenal and was also a member of the U-17 England National Team that earned a silver medal at the 2024 UEFA Women's U-17 Championship.

Teammates at 1 v 1 Futbol Dreams Academy in Winnipeg, Sabrina Nascimento Carreira and Ella Santarsieri are bringing built-in chemistry after winning a national championship at the youth level. Santarsieri scored goals for fun with over 50 in just 18 league games, while Carreira was equally dominant on the backline while also serving as a threat on set pieces.

A trio of B.C. recruits are amongst this wave of incoming Thunderbirds, including Chloe Van Schalkwyk who is coming off a highly successful League1 BC season with Altitude FC. The talented midfielder was named to the League1 BC Team of the Month in July and helped Altitude win their first league championship.

Victoria Cronkhite joins from across the water in Victoria, and is one to watch on the forward line this season. The MVP of her high school provincials, she also got a taste of international experience last year with an invite to a Switzerland U-17 National Team camp. Then there's Brooke Birnie, a defender from Maple Ridge who has won multiple provincial championships and played for the BC Soccer provincial team.

Another player who has had some international action is Heike Clarke, who captained Guyana at the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship earlier this year. A talented defender, Clarke will look to reinforce a UBC squad that broke the Canada West record for single season goals against average last fall.

Goalkeeper Ashleigh Ramsay is another player who is all about keeping goals out. The Toronto native helped backstop Rush Canada in League2 Ontario and brings plenty of potential as she'll learn under All-Canadian goalie Dakota Beckett.

Celina Sieber Espidio rounds out this year's recruits, and the forward from Ontario hit the ground running in the exhibition slate, scoring against NCAA Division 1 competition and showing that she will be fighting for regular minutes from the jump.



"Preseason has been exceptional," reflected Symons. "We played three D1 opponents, getting good results against them and ending against McMaster with a good result against them as well. We've been able to play our young players a lot and we're ready to roll into season now."

While the T-Birds have lost a number of players from last year's undefeated squad, there are still veteran stalwarts such as Beckett, Taiya Dennehy and Jayda Thompson to help lead the way both on and off the pitch.

Also prepped for key roles are Holly Whelan, who finished tied for third in the conference in goals last season with nine, and Sienna Gibson, who was named the 2024 U SPORTS National Championship Tournament MVP in just her first year and scored for Team Canada in the CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship Final against Mexico in June.

"Our team has got really good balance throughout the classes," said Symons. "For me, this is probably our most exciting class in a while that's come in. They're going to be big-time players for us right out of the gate, and I feel they'll showcase themselves early…and they'll also be able to watch our senior players who have been very successful the last few years do it as well. Overall we're really excited about the balance of our team."

UBC's opponents for opening weekend are a pair of local foes, beginning with the Cascades. The Abbotsford side is looking to improve upon their 2024 season when they finished with a 3-9-2 record. The Spartans are then in town on Saturday, in a rematch of last year's Canada West Semifinal when the T-Birds pulled out a 1-0 home victory.

This weekend's games start at 5:00 p.m. (PT) on both Friday and Saturday, at Thunderbird Stadium. CLICK HERE for tickets to see the blue and gold begin their title defence.