THIS WEEK: vs no. 4 Alberta (4-0-0), Fri. Sept. 24, 5:00 p.m.; vs Saskatchewan (1-2-1), Sat. Sept 25, 5:00 p.m., Thunderbird Park.
A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS
The T-Birds have outscored opponents 9-1 on their way to a 3-0-1 record after two weeks. However, the T-Birds' opponents from those four games currently have a combined record of 1-11-4, and when the 4-0 Alberta Pandas come to town this weekend, it will be easily their biggest test of the conference season to date.
Unsurprisingly, second year striker
Janine Frazao is leading the T-Birds in scoring again after her 10 goals as a rookie put her atop the list last year. She has five goals after four games, which also puts her in a tie for the league lead. Centre back
Kelly Cook ranking second in the team scoring race is a bit of a surprise though. She had no goals through her first two seasons on the T-Birds' back line, but has already found the back of the net twice this year, with both goals coming in UBC's 3-0 win over Regina last week.
Cook and the rest of her fellow fullbacks have done an admirable job on defence as well, as the T-Birds have conceded just a single goal this year and just 18 shots on goal. A lot of that has to do with the wealth of experience the 'Birds enjoy at midfield and defence.
Jessica Briker,
Caitlin Davie and
Carmen Lindsay, all fifth year players, have played a big role in locking down opponents, freeing up the sophomore striker duo of Frazao and Rachel Sawer to wreak havoc on attack.
A LOOK AT THE PANDAS
The Pandas currently hold the distinction of being the only team with a goals for/against ratio better than UBC's impressive 9-1 mark. Alberta has outscored the opposition 12-1 during their perfect 4-0 start to the season. Like the T-Birds, however, they are relatively untested at this point. Their first four games were against Calgary, Lethbridge, and Saskatchewan twice, and those teams are have a combined 1-9-1 record, so this weekend's tilt with the 'Birds will give both sides a good indication of where they really stand among the elite teams in the conference.
Fourth-year striker Heather Lund is tied with Frazao for the league lead with five goals, while defender Keisha Wallin and midfielder Carleigh Miller each have two. The Pandas have been extremely efficient shooters through the first two weeks, averaging a goal every three shots on target. They have also been nearly unsolvable defensively, giving up just eight shots on goal to their opponents.
A LOOK AT THE HUSKIES
The Huskies sit at 1-2-1 on the year, but that might not mean much given how inconsistent this team has been. After getting blown out 5-0 by Alberta in the season opener, they played that same Pandas squad very tough the next day, eventually being edged out 1-0 to fall to 0-2. They then took out the frustration of that tough loss on Lethbridge to the tune of a 9-0 win, setting a Canada West record with seven first-half goals in the process. But the very next day, they settled for a 2-2 draw against the winless Calgary Dinos. Good luck figuring this team out.
Also tied with Frazao and Lund with five goals is Saskatchewan's Elizabeth Hudon, who had a hat trick in the 9-0 blowout. And if the Panda's pace of a goal every three shots is impressive, the Huskies take it to another level, scoring on more than half of their shots on goal this year. In fact, Hudon has had the golden touch so far, as all five of her shots on target have found the back of the net. If the Huskies' defence could find that kind of consistency, their record could be very different at this point, but they will get a good chance to prove themselves against the high-flying T-Bird offence this weekend.
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