VANCOUVER – Despite having not lost in six straight games, the UBC Thunderbirds (4-2-3) are barely holding on to the fourth and final playoff spot in the Canada West as they are tied with Manitoba on 16 points through 10 games but sit fourth thanks to their plus-16 goal differential.

The T-Birds precarious standing can be traced back to missed opportunities and arguably the toughest league schedule.

Due to the unbalanced schedule in Canada West women's soccer, UBC has had to face top-ranked Trinity Western twice (both losses) and will have to face a second-place Victoria team for a second time during the final weekend of the regular season.

Manitoba, on the other hand, meets one-win Regina twice more while also getting winless Lethbridge down the stretch.

The T-Birds best chance for a playoff birth requires them to either run the table while maintaining their goal differential advantage over the Bisons or they can hope to catch the third-place Alberta Pandas who have a tough schedule down the stretch with matches against UBC, TWU, and a pair versus a surging Saskatchewan side.

This weekend the T-Birds welcome those very Pandas (6-2-2), who currently sit four points ahead of the T-Birds, and the Huskies (4-5-1) to Thunderbird Park. Both games are scheduled for 5 p.m. starts.

A Look at the Thunderbirds

UBC is coming off a huge weekend that featured a pair of 6-0 victories over Lethbridge and Calgary. The undisputed star of those wins was rookie striker Janine Frazao who had back-to-back four goal performances. She now sits second in the league with nine goals and third in shots with 34. Fellow first-year striker Rachael Sawer is also having a standout season with five goals and the two forwards have combined for 17 points this year.

Defensively the T-Birds have also been extremely sound having allowed just eight goals in 10 games with five of those conceded to first-place TWU. Keeper Jaclyn Dunnett has five straight clean sheets heading into this weekend and is ranked third in the conference in save percentage (.842) and goals against average (0.67).

A Look at the Pandas

Alberta comes to Vancouver riding high off a pair of big victories last weekend. In a key playoff battle, the Pandas downed the Manitoba Bisons 2-0 before exploding for a 9-0 defeat of the Regina Cougars to seriously improve their goal differential in case of a tie break scenario. Alberta now leads the league with 29 goals and is tied for the third least goals against at eight.

Heather Lund, Carleigh Miller, and Amanda Black provide the bulk of the Pandas scoring punch as the trio has combined for 16 goals this season. As a squad, Alberta leads the conference in shooting percentage at 18.5 per cent and averages the third most shots on goal per game at 7.6.

A Look at the Huskies

Saskatchewan (4-5-1) are just four points out of the final playoff spot but they are going to need a number of big wins down the stretch to qualify for the post-season. They got a pair of those wins last weekend with a 1-0 defeat of provincial rivals Regina and  a 2-0 victory over Manitoba.

The Huskies have found the back of the net with some regularity with 15 goals, however, they have also allowed 19 through 10 games. Their offence is primarily a one women show with Elizabeth Hudon leading the team with eight goals on 44 shots. Those totals rank her third and second respectively in the Canada West.