VANCOUVER - With first place still in striking distance heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, the ninth-ranked UBC Thunderbirds play their first ever Canada West match against the UNBC Timberwolves at home this weekend. The game will feature
live internet statistics.
GAME TIME
Saturday, Oct. 13 - 5 p.m. - UNBC at No. 9 UBC (Thunderbird Park, Vancouver)
No. 9 UBC Thunderbirds (6-1-2)
Last Week: T 0-0 at Alberta, T 1-1 at Mount Royal
Last weekend was a mixed bag for the T-Birds. They played Alberta to a scoreless draw on the road, which looks pretty impressive after Alberta went on to hand Trinity Western its first loss of the season the next day, earning a jump to No. 4 in the rankings.
But UBC followed that up with another draw, this time against a winless Mount Royal team, which meant missing out on a big opportunity to gain two points on Trinity Western in the standings. The 'Birds now sit in third place, four points back of the Spartans and two behind Victoria. Those two teams play each other to end the season, meaning UBC is still in the running for top spot and home field advantage throughout the conference playoffs.
Although Mount Royal ended a five-match shutout streak last week, the UBC defence deserves high praise for what it has done this season. That was the first goal given up since
Kelly Cook returned to the lineup, and she hasn't missed a beat fitting in alongside
Alisha Penev,
Jordan Kitagawa and Meghan Pasternak to form the back line.
Offensively, the T-Birds will be disappointed to have gotten just one goal from their past weekend series, but their formidable duo of
Janine Frazao and
Taryn Lim continue to stay in contention atop the league scoring table. They should have many opportunities to improve on their totals at Thunderbird Stadium, where the 'Birds average just under five goals per game this year.
UNBC Timberwolves (0-7-3)
Last Week: L 7-1 vs Calgary, T 2-2 vs Lethbridge
It's been a difficult debut season for UNBC in the Canada West conference, but the good news is that the Wolves have shown signs of improvement lately. After scoring just one goal through their first six games, they have scored five in their past four matches and have two draws during that stretch.
The bad news is that they finish the season against UBC and Trinity Western, two powerhouse offences easily capable of lighting up a scoreboard. UNBC has already given up seven goals or more four times this season, and playing two tough offences on the road is a hard way to end the year. But for a young program looking to build for the future, it will provide a good way to measure how far they have come after one year at the CIS level.
The UBC defence will have their eyes on Sidney Roy this weekend, as the rookie striker has accounted for five of the T-Wolves' six goals this year.
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