After playing four of their first six Canada West games on the road, the No. 1 nationally-ranked UBC Thunderbirds are back at home for four of their next five as they get ready to cross into the back half of the regular season. This weekend they take on UBC Okanagan on Friday, before battling rivals Victoria in a meeting of two U SPORTS Top 10 teams the following night.

While the 'Birds remain undefeated at 5-0-1, they lost both their winning streak and shutout streak in a pair of wild games last weekend, dodging an attempted UFV comeback in Abbotsford in a 3-2 win, before then springing a comeback of their own in Prince George to take a 3-3 draw against UNBC.

"There were a few wobbles over the two games, but at the end of the day we came away with four of the six points," reflected UBC head coach Mike Mosher. "A little bit of adversity along the way is not a bad thing, so long as you're realistic and looking at where some deficiencies are. You're not going to go 15 games without conceding…it wasn't good the goals we conceded, but we'll look to improve upon it."

Someone who certainly wasn't deficient on the weekend was Markus Rukavina, who followed his pair of assists against the Cascades with a hat trick against the Timberwolves and a Canada West Player of the Week award to go with it. After a strong debut campaign last year, the local product has taken another big step forward so far this season. 

"Technically, his skill level is as good as any in the group," said Mosher on the Burnaby native. "His touch, his sweet feet, it's certainly not something that's foreign to us as we see it day in and day out. It's great to see it parlayed into getting goals and points. He's a good player. Flat out, he's a good player."
 

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At the same time, Mosher emphasizes the importance of having multiple offensive threats, and not being too reliant on any one player. That's certainly shown in the stat sheet as while Rukavina's incredible tally of seven goal contributions in six games puts him in second in Canada West in that category, the one player he's behind is teammate Max Comsia (nine). 

Add in (among others) Oliver Herbert's hat trick two weeks ago in Kelowna, and captain Eric Lajeunesse adding two goals and an assist from centre-back, and you have a team that's currently averaging 2.83 goals per game, nearly 50% higher than any other squad in the conference.

Looking at the Thunderbirds' two opponents for this weekend, the Heat (0-4) enter Friday's matchup hoping to fare better than they did in their 5-0 defeat at the hands of UBC two weeks ago. After a bye week to rest and prepare, they're aiming to pick up their first points of the season.

The Vikes (2-2), meanwhile, currently hold the No. 9 ranking in the U SPORTS Top 10. The island outfit have been very hot and cold so far this season, with two 4-0 wins but also two 1-0 losses. Pacific Division runner's-up in each of the last three years, they will be determined to stake their claim as conference contenders once again. 

"UVic has had a very good team over the last several years," added Mosher. "We've been battling with them to win the division, and that appears to be the case again this year. The importance of that game on Saturday is significant. You can't look past the Friday game of course, but Saturday I'm sure will have a significant impact on the division winner and the advantages that come with winning the division."



With the Vikes set to host the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship in November, this Saturday also serves as the first chance for UBC to play against a team that's guaranteed to be at that final stage. 

The Thunderbirds and Vikes cross paths at 7:30 p.m. (PT) inside Thunderbird Stadium on Saturday, September 19, in what is the Canada West TV Free Game of the Week. That means everyone can watch the action unfold for free on CanadaWest.tv, simply by registering an account. 

Before that marquee matchup, the 'Birds take on the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday, September 18 at Ken Woods Field. That game also kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT).