Meghan Hayden scored in the 54th minute as the reigning five-time champion UBC Thunderbirds avoided their first defeat at the Canadian university field hockey championship, coming away with a 1-1 tie against the Victoria Vilkes on Friday.
The Thunderbirds are undefeated against the Vikes in their last 10 meetings on the national stage (6-0-4), while also going 2-0-2 against Victoria during the regular season.
"UBC is such a strong team and they have some dynamic players that are just all over the field," said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft.
"I think we had to work together to try and minimize their chances, which I think we did a good job in minimizing. I thought it was a good game."
After a scoreless first half, Rosie Beale got the Vikes (1-0-1) on the board off a penalty corner in the 38th minute. UBC (1-0-1) netted the equalizer when Hayden dove to tip in a Rachel Donohoe shot off a penalty corner.
"After they scored that first goal we looked much more like the team that we are capable of being," said UBC coach Robin D'Abreo.
The Toronto Varsity Blues downed Guelph 4-1 in Friday's other round-robin match, eliminating the Gryphons from any chance to qualify for Sunday's championship game.
Alison Lee scored twice and Lauren Sudac and Megan Johansen had the others for Toronto (1-1-0), which could still reach the gold-medal match with a victory in its final round-robin game against Victoria on Saturday.
Olivia Lane struck for the Gryphons (0-2).
UBC plays Guelph in Saturday's other preliminary game. A victory would assure the Thunderbirds a spot in the championship match for the sixth year in a row.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.