There is a lot at stake this weekend as the University of Victoria Vikes women's soccer team closes out the Canada West regular season at Centennial Stadium.
Still up for grabs is first place in Canada West as well as playoff seeding.
The Vikes, ranked No. 5 by Canadian Interuniversity Sport, entertain the UBC Thunderbirds tonight and the Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday. Both games will start at 5 p.m.
The Spartans currently hold down first place with a 9-1 record, two points ahead of the Vikes who have eight wins, one loss and one tie.
UBC is right behind the Vikes with a record of 7-1-2. Trinity Western is ranked No. 3 and the Thunderbirds are No. 7.
"This weekend is like the playoffs," said UVic coach Tracy David. "It will be a dogfight and this is the way everything should be decided. We have been building all year for the nationals and there is no better way to prepare for it. Trinity Western and UBC are the types of teams that we will face in the nationals and this weekend will be a good test."
The Vikes will be the host team for nationals, Nov. 8-11 at Centennial Stadium.
UVic has a wealth of talent this year, led by the likes of Emma Greig and Lindsay Hoetzel.
In the 10 games, Greig has connected for 13 goals and three assists while Hoetzel, who sat out the last contest with a back problem, has six goals and five assists.
"We will be facing two good teams this weekend," said Hoetzel. "We have been going hard all year to prove that we belong in the nationals. Our bench strength has been unreal.
"I'm excited that we will be playing in the nationals but we have some work to do before that. I watched last year's nationals [the men Vikes won the title at Centennial Stadium] and it was great. The men's team played very well in front of some huge crowds. I hope that we can draw some big crowds for our nationals."
The UBC threesome of Janine Frazao, Taryn Lim and Rachael Sawer have been on fire for the Thunderbirds. Frazao has tallied eight goals while Lim has netted seven while adding four assists. Sawer has contributed five goals and five assists.
The Spartans are led by CIS All-Canadian goalkeeper Kristen Funk, who leads the Canada West with 0.33 goals-against average.
She has also posted seven shutouts. Rookie forward Krista Gommeringer leads Canada West in points with nine goals and seven assists.
? For the second time this season, the men Vikes will play a weekend doubleheader on the road against UBC and Trinity Western. On their first journey, the Vikes failed to come away with any points, losing 1-0 to UBC and 3-1 to Trinity Western.
"It is tough to get points in those places but it can be done," said UVic coach Bruce Wilson. "We have our work cut out for us and we can't afford to make any mistakes."
The Vikes currently hold down the third and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with 17 points (5-32), four points ahead of Fraser Valley (3-3-4). UBC (9-0-1) and Trinity Western (7-1-2) have already clinched playoff spots.
The top six teams (three from the Prairie and three from the Pacific) advance to the Final Six early next month in Edmonton.
