VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS Champions and No.1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (4-0) will be taking on a pair of Lower Mainland rivals this weekend when they host the U SPORTS No.4-ranked Trinity Western Spartans (2-0-2) and the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades (1-3).
The T-Birds host the Spartans in a rematch of both the Canada West Final and the U SPORTS Championship game on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (PT) at Ken Woods Field. The Cascades come to Point Grey on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. (PT) start at Thunderbird Stadium.
After posting a perfect regular season record at home in 2023, the T-Birds picked up right where they left off last weekend by defeating the visiting UBCO Heat 3-2 and Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 1-0.
Bailey Doerksen tallied her conference-leading fifth goal of the year, as the team also posted its third clean sheet in four games to begin the campaign.
"In both games we got into some great scoring spaces and if we continue to get in those areas I am excited about how many chances we can hopefully convert on going forward," refelcted UBC head coach
Jesse Symons, the 2023 Canada West Coach of the Year. "It was good to have games where we had to manage the opposition and keep them out of our penalty box. I felt both games we did a very good job of this and it will be no different going forward through the season."
Friday's matchup with the Spartans is likely the 'Birds' most hotly anticipated regular season tilt, as the two local rivals proved to be the best teams in the country last year. The T-Birds finished just ahead of TWU in the regular season after defeating them 1-0 in their only matchup, but the Spartans ultimately took the Canada West crown on penalties after a 0-0 match at Thunderbird Stadium. Just over a week later the blue and gold got their revenge, as U SPORTS Player of the Year
Katalin Tolnai scored a thrilling
120th minute goal in the national championship match against Trinity Western to give UBC its first U SPORTS women's soccer championship in four years and eighth all-time.
This season, the Spartans are undefeated, but early on they are not showing the same dominance that they did in 2023. After allowing only seven goals over 14 games last season, and posting a goal differential of +29, TWU has allowed four goals in four games this year and sports a goal differential of just +2.
"It's always great to play against Trinity and we have had some very important games in the past few years against them in Canada West Finals and at Nationals," said Symons. "We know each other well, but with any year there are changes to both teams, so it will be good to get an idea of where they are at this early in the season. They are a team that always is quick in transition and have players that can cause problems if given space, so we will need to make sure to be on our front foot throughout the game. When we get chances we will need to be clinical and be willing to get into spaces that may cause them issues."
The Cascades return to Thunderbird Stadium for the first time since last season's home opener, which saw the T-Birds hold on for a 1-0 win. UFV went on to post a record of 6-5-3, with their campaign ending in a loss on penalties to the Victoria Vikes in a Canada West play-in game.
This year, UFV started with a pair of road losses to the Okanagan teams before picking up a 2-0 win against Mount Royal, who the Spartans just tied, followed by a 4-1 loss to the Vikes. In all, the Cascades sport a -7 goal differential to go along with their 1-3 record.
"UFV is a young team that can create problems with some players," commented Symons. "They split their home games last week games and I am sure they will be ready to go after a trip to UNBC right before coming to us. Every game in our conference is difficult and poses different problems. We will need to be ready to go from the outset to really try and take control of the game."
No tickets are required for Friday's game at Ken Woods Field, but for Sunday's game at Thunderbird Stadium they are still available
here. Stream all UBC regular season soccer, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
