Matchup

Win, or go home - it's playoff time! The Thunderbirds are off to Saskatchewan to begin their title defence against the Manitoba Bisons in a Canada West winner-take-all play-in game on Friday, October 27 at 9:00 a.m. PT.
 

Last session before departing to Saskatoon for first round of playoffs. ???? pic.twitter.com/oxQRzMmpdl

— UBC Women's Soccer (@ubcwsoc) October 25, 2017

 "This will be our fourth match against Manitoba in the past two years," said Head Coach Jesse Symons. "They are well organized and structured so we will need to be motivated and focused on securing the ball and controlling the tempo of the match. They have a well-balanced team that we will be prepared for."
 
The T-Birds and Bisons met earlier this season, when the 'Birds earned a 4-1 victory at home with goals from Aman Shergill, Jasmin Dhanda, Danielle Steer and Margaret Hadley. UBC also defeated Manitoba 2-0 in the Canada West Select Six playoff in 2016 en route to their second straight Canada West Championship.
 

Last Action

 

The Thunderbirds enter this year's playoffs on a two-game winning streak – shutting out UFV 3-0 before picking up a 2-0 clean sheet over the Trinity Western Spartans. Shergill notched three goals and an assist over the final weekend of regular season action, while Dhanda scored a goal and an assist of her own. UBC sits in third place in the Pacific Division, ending up just a point behind the first-place Spartans and second seeded Victoria Vikes.
 
Manitoba snapped a three-game losing skid with a 1-0 victory in Regina to cap off their conference play and finish sixth in the Prairie Division.

 

By the Numbers

 

38 – Dhanda (20 points) and Shergill (18 points) finished #1 and #2 in the Canada West points race, combining forces to lead the T-Bird attacking core all season long and the league in offence.
 
7 – The Bisons have been shutout in 7 of their 14 games played, and have scored just 16 goals this season.
 

Players to Watch

Jasmin Dhanda (#9, F) – The nation's top goal scorer is playing her fifth and final year with the Thunderbirds, and has made the most of the season so far. With 14 goals and 6 assists in 14 games, the standout attacker has the most points (65) in Canada West history, and is third all-time in goals (43).


 
Aman Shergill (#7, F) – The graduating senior tallied the most assists and the most shots in all of U SPORTS this season and was a force for the 'Birds in last year's playoff run to the national final.
 

Coach's take

 
UBC's head coach is pleased with his team's form heading into the postseason. 

"The team is in a great mindset after the two shutouts and two wins over the weekend against UFV and Trinity Western to finish off the regular season," said Symons. We are very excited to begin playoffs and are preparing for a very good performance on Friday."