UBC’s International Stars, Experience Set to Rekindle Fiercest Rivalry in BC Soccer Ahead of U Sports Championship

Walking through the handshake line in August, UBC women’s soccer head coach Jesse Symons knew what was coming. His side had just beaten the Trinity Western Spartans 2-0, and he leaned over to Spartans star midfielder Sophie Crowther. “See you in November,” he said. 

Well, it’s November and one of the storied rivalries in Canadian university soccer is back again, as Symons’ Thunderbirds host Crowther’s Spartans in the Canada West semifinal at Thunderbird Stadium on Thursday night. 

“You just know we're gonna play them; the rivalry has been fantastic, and it always seems like we’re on a crash course for November,” Symons told Sports Page BC. “This year it’s a semifinal; typically it's been in the final, but it's a team that you got to get through to lift the banner at the end of the season.”

While UBC has already secured a U Sports national championship berth this season as hosts, TWU will need to navigate the Canada West final four—which also includes a semifinal between Victoria Vikes and Thompson Rivers Wolfpack—to clinch a spot to battle for national honours. 

A win against the Thunderbirds would punch their ticket, but it is a feat they have not achieved since a penalty shootout victory in 2023’s Canada West championship match. Since then, UBC has won nine straight games between the two, including the 2023 national final, and has not conceded a goal in that spell. 

“There’s been so many story games with penalty shootouts, overtime wins and even in-season, there's been tight games, but I think the playoff games are what makes this one of the best rivalries, personally,” Symons said. “We just know each other so well, and there's some very good players in it that I think that we really uplift each other throughout the whole season to become a better team.”

For the Thunderbirds, the semifinal test comes as they ride an undefeated season, despite saying farewell to their previous 44-game win streak with a 1-1 draw against the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack earlier this season. 

Despite already having a spot at nationals, finishing as the top seed, and hopefully avoiding an RSEQ powerhouse like Laval Rouge et Or or Montreal Carabins until the medal rounds, the priority this weekend is to secure a top-four finish—while also chasing a 19th Canada West women’s soccer title. 

UBC’s Experience Steps Up

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This is Symons’ 11th year coaching the UBC women’s soccer program, but it features one of the most experienced rosters he’s had. 

At the same time, he’s grown a lot on the touchline, ensuring the team used 24 players this season instead of relying on a smaller group, as is common in university soccer. 

And while the annals of UBC soccer are littered with record-setting names and championship years, this season has brought more names into historic conversations. 

Maddy Norman, a third-year striker from Surrey who switched to the position from the wing this season, has 15 in as many regular-season games, tying her for the most goal contributions in a single season in program history and earning her Canada West Player of the Year honours.

Meanwhile, right back Sophia Ferriera—who wasn’t expected back on this roster —is seeking her fourth Canada West title and third national championship. Add in third-year midfielder Bailey Doerksen, who broke out as a rookie in UBC’s 2023 national championship-winning year, as well as fifth-years Jayda Thompson and Taiya Dennehy, and there is a top-down culture of success, while ushering in a deep squad. 

“Before 2019, we had bigger rosters and weren’t getting a lot of players in, and I also didn't really focus on winning the Pacific Division as much,” Symons said of how his managerial approach has evolved. “From then on... we've sort of really started to look at using the whole squad, making everyone involved and then see how the players progress as rookies through the fifth year to make them better and better.”

In net, 28-year-old Marilena Spagnolo has also elevated the team, but has split time with second-year backstop Emma Sparrow. 

International Success Lifts UBC

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What makes UBC’s title chase over the next two weekends unique is the team’s international accolades in recent years, including absences that impacted the roster this season. 

This year, 20-year-old midfielder Sienna Gibson was the lone U Sports player on Canada’s U20 World Cup roster, helping the team reach the quarterfinals in Poland in September, while limiting her to seven Canada West games. First-year midfielder Felicia Hanisch also recently played for Canada’s U17s at the World Cup in Morocco. 

Beyond the Canadian youth internationals who have caught the eye of Dalhousie Tigers coach Cindy Tye, who also manages Canada’s U20 team, UBC has seen Sophie Harrison suit up for England’s youth ranks, and defender Heike Clark battle Manchester City and Jamaica superstar Bunny Shaw on senior international duty with Guyana. 

“I've been really proud lately of how many players we've started to progress to international levels of play,” Symons said of the unique pride point for his programme, which has improved since the introduction of the Northern Super League as a Canadian professional pathway in 2025. 

“We've just got a lot of players now, sort of progressing through our system into international level of play, which is, I think, a really exciting thing for a Canadian university to showcase”

The pedigree UBC is bringing into the next two weekends is largely unparalleled in university soccer in Canada, but it doesn't make the road any easier. They are favourites to win Canada West, but no title is a certainty, especially with TWU standing in their way.