Friday, Oct. 15: Cascades (2-3-3, 5th in West Division) vs. UNBC Timberwolves (1-4-3, 7th in West Division), 8 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 17: Cascades vs. Timberwolves, 3 p.m.
Rotary Stadium / Abbotsford, B.C.
Webcast: CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op

THE MATCH-UP

Over the past two weeks, the Cascades have battled their way from the West Division basement up to fifth place… but they still have work to do, as only the top four finishers make the Canada West playoffs. With four games to go, points are at a premium, and the visiting UNBC Timberwolves are just as desperate to earn them. While the T-Wolves currently sit seventh, they're still alive in the playoff race in the parity-laden West Division, as only nine points separates first from last.

The two teams met in the preseason in Abbotsford, with UFV prevailing 3-2.

SENIOR CELEBRATION

Four graduating Cascades men's soccer standouts will be honoured in a pregame senior ceremony on Sunday, as it's the squad's last regular-season home game of the 2021 campaign. Honourees will include Ryan Donald, David Parfett, Nikhil Reddy, and Jun Won Choi.

RECENT FORM

With points from their last three games (including wins over UBC and at TRU), the Cascades are in their best form of the season. Defence has been the UFV squad's calling card – they've allowed multiple goals in just one game this season – and the offence has perked up over the past three games.

UNBC, coming off a bye last weekend, split with UBC Okanagan their last time out. They're capable of scoring in bunches, as illustrated by three goals in the last seven minutes to claim a 3-3 draw vs. UBC on Sept. 25, and a 4-1 outburst vs. UBCO on Oct. 2.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manpal Brar, UFV – The third-year striker has lit the fuse for the Cascades offensively over the past three games, scoring three goals over that span. Most recently, he scored the lone goal of the game in Saturday's 1-0 win at TRU. Having battled his way back from two torn ACLs to re-emerge as an impact player, he's an inspirational figure for the Cascades.

Michael Henman, UNBC – The third-year forward has been the T-Wolves' most threatening attacker this season, and after a snakebit start – hitting the post on three separate occasions – he busted out in his team's last game vs. UBCO, racking up a goal and two assists.

QUOTABLE

"I think it's a little bit bittersweet, knowing it's coming to an end. You don't realize how fast Year 1 to Year 5 are going to go. Year 1 kind of goes by a little bit slow, and as the years go by, it just goes faster and faster. It's almost the end of the season already, and it feels like we were just starting preseason yesterday." – Cascades senior midfielder Nikhil Reddy, looking ahead to his final home game on Sunday

"They're really well-coached. As a team, they always come to play, and they can take points off anyone in the league. I think we've just got to building on our previous weeks. We've had wins over UBC and TRU, and we've just got to keep building and believing in ourselves, just like (head coach) Tom (Lowndes) says." – Reddy, on the challenge posed by the Timberwolves