VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (5-2-1) will have a pair of very tough encounters this Thanksgiving weekend as they face two of the conference's top women's soccer teams, the University of Fraser Valley Cascades and the No. 1 Trinity Western University Spartans.

The Thunderbirds will start the weekend by hosting UFV (7-1) on David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium on Friday. The Cascades are the hottest team in the Canada West, having won their last seven games in a row. The streak has them in contention for first place in the league table.

The last time the Thunderbirds and Cascades met was more than a month ago in a close game that was eventually won 1-0 by UFV with a late goal.

UBC will be looking to capitalize on their great recent form - the T-Birds are unbeaten in six matches - and home field advantage. Third-year forward Amrit Berar scored twice against UBC Okanagan on Saturday to move into sole possession of second place in team scoring. Defender Aman Shergill scored a great individual goal on Friday to beat Thompson Rivers 1-0.

Meanwhile, UFV will be relying on their main striker Monika Levarsky, who is fifth in the Canada West with five goals this season.

On Saturday, the Thunderbirds will travel to Langley, B.C., to face the conference co-leaders Trinity Western (7-0-1). This game will be a real test for the UBC defence, which has only conceded four goals in eight games. With eight goals in eight games, midfielder Jessica King leads the way offensively for the two-time defending national champions.

Both games this weekend will kick off at 5 p.m.