Shaw engineering big finish at UBC
WOMEN’S SOCCER: Two-time national champion adds experienced touch to young Thunderbirds squad
Brienna Shaw is hooked on a feeling and we’re not talking about Blue Swede.
At 27 and out of university soccer since the early part of the decade, she might be the only member of the UBC Thunderbirds women’s soccer team old enough to get a ’70s pop hit reference. She won two titles with Queen’s University and she wants more than almost anything to get another one in her final year of eligibility.
“I love playing with a team working toward a goal,” said the 5-foot-6 centre back. “That feeling of success when you actually reach that goal as a team. … It’s a good feeling. Honestly, it’s one of the best feelings. … Reaching the ultimate goal, there’s just no better feeling than that.”
During Shaw’s four-year career at Queen’s, she was named the Ontario University Athletics rookie of the year in 2008, won national titles in 2010 and 11 and was an East Division first-team all-star every season.
After graduating, she spent five years as a consultant in geo-technical engineering before deciding to return to UBC to get her master’s degree. That didn’t mean she left soccer behind once school ended. The Kitsilano native played for Whitecaps FC, the North Shore’s entry in the Pacific Coast League, and in the Vancouver women’s metro league.
Coincidentally, her coach on the Whitecaps and the PCL team was none other than current T-Birds coach Jesse Symons. Having a familiar face around was one reason to return to the ranks of university sports, helping offset any apprehension about being the old vet on a young Thunderbirds team.
“You know, I actually thought about this a lot,” she said. “At the start of the season, I wondered if I was going to feel really old. The thing is, when you’re playing on a team, come practice, come games, age doesn’t really matter.” Although … “I definitely don’t bounce back quite as easy as I did when I was 20. I feel like I get sore longer, that’s for sure,” she said, laughing.
Her job with applied earth sciences firm BGC involves construction and site assessment of large-scale dams. In layman’s terms, she helps determine if the geological structure is sound — which explains how she’s had such success as a defensive field general. She’s all about structure.
“As a centre defender, you see the entire field,” she said. “It’s really important to make sure your structure is organized defensively. That’s one of my strong suits — getting everyone organized in front of me.”
The T-Birds have a big weekend ahead, including Thunderstruck on Friday — the school’s annual festival celebrating women’s sports — when they host the University of the Fraser Valley at 6:30 p.m. at Thunderbird Stadium.
It’s followed by the regular-season finale against heated rival Trinity Western, also at UBC, Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
UBC (7-2-3) has already secured a playoff berth, but is looking to improve its playoff position, as well as send all the fifth-year players — including Shaw — out as winners at home.
The fifth-ranked Spartans (102), who lead Canada West’s Pacific Division ahead of UVic and UBC, had been on a 27-game unbeaten streak before the T-Birds handed them a 3-0 loss in September. The streak started after a 2-0 loss to UBC in 2015.
“(The weekend) is very important,” said Shaw. “Being a fifth-year player, there’s a number of us, it’s our last home game. You want to end that on a good note.”