VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (6-1-3) head to the provincial capital for their final road trip to kick off the home-and-home Legends Cup rivalry series with the University of Victoria Vikes (5-2-3). Game one takes place at Centennial Stadium at 7:15 p.m. PT on Thursday, October 10,  before the two squads head back to the mainland for a 5:00 p.m. PT start at Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday, October 10. 

Now ranked No. 10 in the nation, the T-Birds hold the third seed in the Canada West with 21 points - three points up on the Vikes (18) with two weeks remaining in the regular season. UBC is still within striking distance of the second-place Trinity Western Spartans (8-1-1) as the top two teams in the Canada West earn a direct berth to the conference quarter-finals.

The 'Birds and Vikes met in preseason action on August 25 when UBC earned a 4-0 clean sheet victory on home field. Victoria last defeated the T-Birds on September 2, 2017, in a 1-0 win on the island.

Last Action

UBC picked up six points on a trip through B.C. last weekend - edging the TRU WolfPack 2-1 with first half goals from Natasha Klasios and Sophie Damian, and shutting out UBCO 1-0 on fourth-year forward Alyssa Hunt's fourth goal of the season.

Victoria also swept their matches with TRU and UBCO by earning 1-0 victories in both on the road. Goalkeeper Puck Louwes' back-to-back clean sheets earned her the Canada West third star of the week honours.

Coach's Take

Thunderbird head coach Jesse Symons knows the rivalry between the two universities runs deep.

"It's a great rivalry," said Symons. "They have a great program with an outstanding history. Having them host nationals this year adds a bit to things as well. This will be the first year in a while we play back to back with our games usually split, so it brings another level of excitement to see where they are in season. We've had similar results this year so it will be good to see how we match up."

Symons also spoke on the importance of points down the stretch in a competitive Canada West. 

"The division is very close with lots of big games this weekend. Big points this weekend allows for us to keep up with the teams above us and also can create some space with the rest of the division. I'm sure there will be a lot of scoreboard watching this weekend leading into the final matches of the season. We are really starting to hit stride as a team with our defence being one of the top UBC has ever had. As a team with so many special individual attacking players we expect big things with the chances they have been creating each match."