Game Information
 
Date: Friday, Oct. 25 & Sunday, Oct. 27
Time: 1:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m.
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Venue: Field 7 in Nutrien Park
Get in the Action: Tickets
 
SASKATOON – Canada West playoff soccer action hits Saskatoon this weekend, with a pair of high-stakes matchups taking place at Field 7 in Nutrien Park.
 
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's soccer team will play host to a quarterfinal match as they look to advance to their first Canada West Final Four since 2016.
 
The Huskies picked up massive 2-1 win over MacEwan Griffins on Saturday afternoon, allowing the club to pick up the tiebreaker advantage, but after MacEwan defeated the Regina Cougars on Sunday and Saskatchewan picked up a 2-2 draw against the Alberta Pandas, the club finished the season as the second seed in the Prairie Division. Nonetheless, the Huskies were able to finish with a four-point weekend, ensuring a quarterfinal match in front of their home crowd in Saskatoon.
 
However, the Huskies won't know who they are taking on until late Friday afternoon, with the UBC Thunderbirds and Lethbridge Pronghorns set to do battle in the Canada West Play-In game for the right to take on the Huskies on Sunday.
 
The Thunderbirds, who finished with an 8-2-4 record and in third place in the Pacific Division, will take on the 1-6-7 Lethbridge Pronghorns, who snuck into the sixth and final postseason spot in the Prairie Division.
 
UBC enters the postseason with two losses in their previous three matches, but the club went a perfect 4-0-0 against Prairie Division opponents and is chasing after two more victories this weekend to advance to their fifth-consecutive Canada West Final Four.
 
Meanwhile, the Pronghorns, who have just one win to their name this season, are hoping they can turn the corner at the right time. Lethbridge, who is back in the postseason after failing to qualify in 2018, is looking for their first playoff win since 2003, where the program played host to the Canada West Championship.
 
Lethbridge and UBC are each familiar opponents to Saskatchewan, as the Huskies have matched up against both programs this season. The club fell 2-0 against Thunderbirds on the road earlier this season, while notching a single-point in a 1-1 draw against the Pronghorns in Lethbridge, where Hannah Zdunich-Costa scored the lone goal for the Huskies. But no matter who they face in this meeting, Saskatchewan will have the advantage of taking the pitch on their home turf, where the club finished 4-1-2 this season.
 
10 Things
 
1: For Sunday's quarter-final match, as well as the men's soccer quarter-final on Saturday night, ticket buyers can buy one adult ticket and get one youth ticket free when they purchase their tickets online using the promo code: goal.
 
2: The Huskies 8-2-4 record and .714 win percentage this season is the second-best in Jerson Barandica-Hamilton's six-year tenure as head coach of the program.
 
3: Saskatchewan is in a much better place this postseason as opposed to last. This go-round, the Huskies have not only the benefit of dodging the Play-In game, but their 8-2-4 record also granted them the opportunity of play host to the quarterfinal match, whereas last season, the club had to hit the road in Calgary.
 
4: The Huskies last loss came on Sept. 21, when the club lost 3-0 to the Thunderbirds in Vancouver.
 
5: If the Huskies win their quarterfinal match, and MacEwan falls short, Saskatchewan would play host to the Canada West Final Four. The Huskies last hosted the conference championship in 2015, when it was named the Select Six.
 
6: Huskies' forward Maya Gabruch's nine goals this season matched the Pronghorns team total of nine, as the club was outscored 22-9 in their 14 matches this season.
 
7: Taneil Gay enters the postseason on a tear, as the fourth-year forward has two goals and three assists over her last five games.
 
8: Lethbridge was led offensively by Jesse Dueck and Colette Mofakham, who each scored three goals this season, while just two players other than Dueck and Mofakham found the net during the 2019 campaign. In comparison, Saskatchewan had ten different goal scorers, while UBC had eight.
 
9: Alyssa Hunt led the Thunderbirds in scoring with eight goals this season. Hunt, who finished her regular season with a two-goal performance against the UNBC Timberwolves, was a threat offensively against the Huskies earlier this season, as she recorded a goal and a season-high three shots-on-goal in the match.
 
10: Saskatchewan's last time hosting a Canada West quarter-final was in 2017 when they fell 3-0 to the visiting Thunderbirds.