VANCOUVER – A clash of titans is in the cards for this weekend, the No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds women's soccer team will take on the No. 9-ranked Victoria Vikes this Friday, October 9. The opening whistle is set for 5 p.m. at David Sidoo Field at Thunderbird Stadium.
 
The T-Birds, under first-year head coach Marisa Kovacs, are coming off another dominant weekend of play, as they topped the Regina Cougars and Saskatchewan Huskies by an aggregate of 7-1. In the match against the Cougars, UBC showcased the depth of their offence, getting goals from Amrit Berar (Richmond, B.C.), Krista Whittaker (Nanaimo, B.C.), and Madison Guy (Langley, B.C.) en route to a 3-0 win.
 
The goals continued to pour in against Saskatchewan, though there was a little luck involved. The Huskies surrendered an own goal in the 40th minute, as a corner attempt from Taylor Shannik (Delta, B.C.) bounced in off a defender. In the 49th minute, Jasmin Dhanda (Surrey, B.C.) bagged her team-leading fifth goal of the season, drilling one from the spot after Shannik was hauled down inside the 18. Berar added another for the 'Birds at the 70-minute mark, and the teams traded goals right before the final whistle, to bring the final score to 4-1 UBC.
 
As much as UBC's season has been defined by their depth of scoring, with five separate players having at least two goals thus far, their greatest strength has been between the pipes, as goalkeeper Olivia de Goede (Victoria, B.C.), a transfer student from the Vikes, sits seventh in all of CIS with a 0-44 Goals-Against Average (GAA) and is tied for the CIS lead in clean sheets, with five.
 
The Vikes, like their mainland counterparts, are coming into the matchup hot. After losing two of its first three contests – including a 1-0 loss to UBC in the Canada West season opener - Victoria has one six straight games by a combined score of 20-2, with goalkeeper Meaghan Storie, a 2014 Canada West Second-Team All-Star, picking up four clean sheets in the process.
 
Offensively, the Vikes are being paced by Emma Greig, who earned a CIS All-Canadian designation in 2014. The fifth-year senior has notched three goals and five assists in her team's nine games, which has her tied with Dhanda, Fraser Valley's Gurneet Dhaliwal, and Manitoba's Bruna Mavignier for the Canada West lead in points.