The UBC Thunderbirds open the second week of their Canada West season looking to take advantage of a couple of dates on home turf. First welcoming the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack to Thunderbird stadium Friday, September 7 ahead of hosting The UBCO Heat the next evening on Saturday, September 8, both kickoffs are set for 6:30 p.m. PT.
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The T-Birds are looking to build on a solid opening weekend that saw their national ranking improve by one spot, up to number 6 overall in this week's U SPORTS top 10 list.
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Last Action
UBC enjoyed a convincing 3-0 victory at home against the Trinity Western University Spartans last Sunday after settling for a 1-1 draw two nights earlier in Abbotsford against the Fraser Valley Cascades to open the season (1-0-1)
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TRU improved to (1-1-1) on the campaign coming out of last weekend following an emphatic 4-0 home win over their rival UBCO on Friday in Kamloops. Less than 48 hours later the two squads played to a stalemate in Kelowna which saw the Heat's record move to (1-1-2) on the young season.
Players to Watch
Caleb Clarke (#19, F) – The 6-foot-1 forward was dominant in his opening weekend wearing blue and gold as he played a big part in all of the T-Birds scoring, collecting two goals and two assists in the first two regular season games. The freshman was also recognized for his output as he was named the Canada West Men's third star of the week.
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Zach Verhoven (#8, F) – The third year forward made his presence felt and set the tone early in last Sunday's 3-0 win over TWU. Showing an impressive touch in the 15
th minute from 12 yards out and hitting a Clarke pass first time from the left side of the box and curling the ball into the top right corner of the goal.
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Coach's Take
Heading into the weekend long-time 'Birds head coach Mike Mosher is looking for his squad to display the same characteristics from last Sunday's complete 3-0 performance vs TWU.
"Certainly, we hope to build off a good showing vs Trinity," said Mosher. "I thought we did a lot of things well that day, but I also really like the mindset and determination that the group brought forth in that game. That shows some of what this group is capable of and now we need to deliver consistently and grow going forwards."
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Mosher added that he thinks both games will be tough tests for his squad this weekend.
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"TRU and UBCO will present different challenges, but we have stressed to the group that there are no easy games in Canada West and especially in our division where the teams are well organized and prepared each week," Mosher continued. "That was one of my comments after our first game after we drew at UFV, that we must be mentally prepared to fight and compete at every moment and take opportunities when they are there or you can put yourself in a situation where you can drop points. That was the reality at UFV and hopefully the squad learned from that experience. Now we did get a good response a couple days later vs TWU but now can we keep that going into these home games this weekend."
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