Friday, Oct. 18: Cascades (2-5-5, 6th in Pacific Division) vs. Thompson Rivers WolfPack (2-6-4, 7th in Pacific Division), 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19: Cascades vs. UBC Okanagan Heat (1-10-1, 8th in Pacific Division), 7 p.m.
MRC Sports Complex
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv

The Cascades have work to do to lock down a Canada West playoff berth, but they're in the driver's seat with home-field advantage over the final regular-season weekend.

UFV currently occupies the sixth and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, and they've got the team that's chasing them rolling into town on Friday. The Cascades can end all suspense by beating Thompson Rivers on Friday, but the WolfPack have proven a dangerous foe this season, twice earning draws vs. the Pacific front-running Calgary Dinos. TRU can leapfrog the Cascades with a win, which would leave UFV in a position where they'd need to defeat UBC Okanagan on Saturday and hope the Trinity Western Spartans can take care of business vs. TRU that same evening. A good result Friday, then, is the most straightforward path.

"TRU is a much-improved team this season," UFV head coach Rob Giesbrecht said. "They've earned some results, and pushed some very good teams in other games. We know it's going to be a tough battle, and when you have two teams fighting for a playoff spot, there's no lack of motivation.

"This season has been a grind, and a theme for our season has been, we're a youthful team that's learning a lot of tough lessons. We're hoping we can apply these lessons coming down to crunch time."

Players to watch: Saturday marks the final home game for the lone fifth-year senior on the Cascades' roster: Brittney Zacharuk. The UFV captain has been an impactful presence throughout her five years on campus, and after setting the Cascades' all-time assists record earlier this season, she has a chance to grab the career points record as well. She's currently tied with Monika Levarsky (2014-2016) with 36 career points, and she'll have sole possession with her next goal or assist. Zacharuk will be honoured in a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday's tilt with UBCO. For the WolfPack, fifth-year midfielder Marisa Mendonca picked up TRU female athlete of the week honours after scoring to spark her team to a crucial win over UBCO last Thursday. Heat goalkeeper Emma Terrillon has her team's lone clean sheet of the season, and ranks 11th in the conference with 40 saves in her nine starts this season.