VANCOUVER - The No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds men's soccer team will try to win the Canada West title as the regular season concludes for the squad with games in Calgary and Lethbridge.
No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds
2011 conference record: 7-1-4 (2nd)
2011 CIS ranking: 3
Last week: tied Alberta 1-1, beat Saskatchewan 5-2
Streak: 1 win
Even though the playoffs are all but locked up for the T-Birds, they still have plenty on the line this weekend as they wrap up the regular season. The 'Birds are just one point behind Victoria for first place in Canada West and the right to host the conference Final Four, so picking up the full six points will be huge.
The 'Birds handled Lethbridge to the tune of an easy 4-1 win last time, but Calgary was tougher, narrowly going down 3-2 to UBC, so nothing should be taken for granted this week. Meanwhile Victoria has two tough matches in Saskatchewan and third place Alberta this week, so the top of the standings are still wide open with two games remaining.
That same Alberta side is the reason the T-Birds find themselves trailing Victoria this week. The 'Birds had a 1-0 lead and dominated the match, but settled for a 1-1 draw after a goalkeeping mistake allowed Alberta to equalize.
They took out their frustrations the next day though, beating Saskatchewan 5-2 for their biggest offensive outburst of the season. The T-Birds continue to lead the league offensively by a wide margin, averaging over 2.6 goals per game.
Calgary Dinos
2011 conference record: 6-5-1 (5th)
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: lost to Victoria 3-1, beat Fraser Valley 2-0
Streak: 1 win
As important as this weekend is for UBC, it's even more crucial for the Dinos, who are currently one point back of Trinity Western for the final playoff spot. The Dinos will go head to head with the Spartans in the last game of the season after taking on UBC to kick off the weekend.
The Dinos handled both teams relatively well the first time around, earning a draw with the Spartans and narrowly dropping a 3-2 decision to UBC. They are coming off a 3-1 loss to first place Victoria and a 2-0 win over Fraser Valley last week.
Scoring has been an issue for the Dinos, as they rank near the bottom of the league offensively. No go-to scorer has emerged for this team yet, as nobody has more than three goals to their credit individually. Yoann Promonet and Jeremy Jenkins both have exactly three, but if the Dinos want to not only qualify for playoffs but make some noise when they get there, someone will have to step up and start finding the back of the net.
Lethbridge Pronghorns
2011 conference record: 1-10-1 (8th)
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: tied Fraser Valley 2-2, lost to Victoria 1-0
Streak: 1 loss
The Horns' season has been over for a long time now, with just one win to speak of this season. They have been shut out eight times on the year which, unsurprisingly, has them ranked dead last in scoring. They also rank last in shots allowed and goals against, so not much has gone right for Lethbridge this season.
Shlomo Swan-Azman is the only player on the team with more than a single goal this year. He added his second of the season last week to help his side earn a 2-2 tie with Fraser Valley.
Closing out an otherwise disappointing season with a big upset win or two should have this team motivated for the final weekend though, so the T-Birds and Spartans would be wise to not go to sleep on this side with the playoff picture still not set.
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