Fantastic Four... UBC's Frazao does it again

by Kevin Johns, UBC Sports Info Assistant

Archive photo courtesy Rich Lam / UBC Athletics: UBC freshman Janine Frazao scored four goals for the second night in a row

VANCOUVER - First-year striker Janine Frazao filled the net with four goals for the second consecutive night as she led the UBC Thunderbirds to a 6-0 victory over the Calgary Dinos on Saturday evening at Thunderbird Park.

The win moves the Thunderbirds (4-2-4) into a tie for fourth place in the Canada West with Manitoba, who have a game in hand, while the Dinos (4-6-0) are four points back of UBC in seventh spot.

Frazao, who found the net four times yesterday against Lethbridge, continued her hot streak opening the scoring in the 20th minute. She showed poise beyond years smartly touching a ball from defender Jessica Briker to herself, waiting for Calgary goalkeeper Kristen Barton to commit then calmly sliding the ball in passed the prone keeper. Frazao credited a new attack-weighted system as well as her teammates' play in her success.

"We changed our formation to a 4-3-3 which gave us a lot of success this weekend but I've been getting some great balls from my teammates that made it easy for me to convert," added the forward.

The 'Birds exploited the Dinos' defence by relentlessly pushing the ball up the wing then crossing into the middle to open attackers. This strategy paid dividends on three of Frazao's goals and again when Caitlin Davie converted a Chelsea Stang cross four minutes after Frazao's opener.

The T-Birds, who swept the weekend by identical 6-0 scores over two visitors from Alberta, desperately needed all six points to remain in the hunt for one of four available playoff spots in the tightly contest Canada West.

"We need every point we can get down the stretch as we let a few get away from us earlier this season," said UBC head coach Dick Mosher. "It's good to see that we have found our scoring touch."

The Thunderbirds look to continue their success at home when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies and Alberta Pandas on October 23rd and 24th. UBC kickoff the weekend against the Huskies Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. The Dinos return home to host the Fraser Valley Cascades on October 24th.