LANGLEY, B.C. – The No. 9 ranked Trinity Western's men's soccer team will take on Thompson Rivers this Friday (4 p.m. PT) in the Canada West semifinals at UBC.

The winner of Friday's game will play in the Canada West championship match Sunday at 2 p.m. (PT). If UBC, who will host the U SPORTS championship tournament, wins in its semifinal game against Fraser Valley, the winner of the semifinal between TWU and TRU will automatically earn a berth in the national tournament. If UFV beats the Thunderbirds, only the winner of the Canada West final will advance to the U SPORTS championship.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (All Times PDT)
Friday, Nov. 2 (T-Bird Stadium)

SF1: TRU vs. TWU - 4 p.m.
SF2: UFV vs. UBC - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 3 (Ken Woods Field)

Bronze: 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 4 (T-Bird Stadium)

Gold: 2 p.m.

WATCH: www.CanadaWest.tv

THE WEEKEND STORY
• The Spartans come into the weekend after winning a thriller last weekend against Calgary, defeating the Dinos in PKs.
• TWU is looking to take on more step up the Canada West podium this year, having won a bronze medal in 2016 and a silver medal in 2017.
• The last time TWU won a Canada West title was in 2007, when they capped a run of three straight conference championships.
• TWU hasn't been to the U SPORTS championship tournament since 2009.
• The WolfPack come off a victory in the Canada West quarter-finals on the road against the Alberta Golden Bears, who had finished atop the Prairie Division. TRU had finished fourth in the Pacific Division.
• TWU faces a tall task in facing TRU who are one of the hottest teams in the country. The Wolfpack's last loss took place on Sept. 29 against UFV.
• The Spartans are hoping to return to the Canada West final for the second year in a row after they lost to UBC last year.
• TRU looks to advance past the semifinal round after losing at the hands of UBC last year in the semifinals. TRU eventually went on to beat Alberta in the Canada West bronze medal game.
• The Spartans bring just one Canada West all-star in this matchup with fifth-year forward Joel Waterman (Aldergrove, BC) taking first team honors.
• The WolfPack's Jan Pirretas Glasmacher was the lone Canada West all-star for TRU as he was named to the Second Team.

SPARTANS HEAD-TO-HEAD IN 2018
vs. TRU (1-1)
Sept. 28 – TWU 3 TRU 2 (Langley)
Oct. 17 – TWU 1 TRU 2 (Kamloops, B.C.)

vs. UFV (2-0)
Oct. 5 – TWU 2 UFV 1 (Langley)
Oct. 7 – TWU 3 UFV 2 (Abbotsford, B.C.)

vs. UBC (0-2)
Sept. 2 – UBC 3 TWU 0 (Vancouver)
Oct. 13 – UBC 3 TWU 2 (Langley)

TEAM PREVIEWS

TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS
2018 CW regular season record: 8-3-4, 2nd in Pacific Division

2018 record vs. Final Four teams: 2-0 vs. UFV, 1-1 vs. TRU, 0-2 vs. UBC,

Last CW Final Four appearance: 2017 / 2nd

Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2007 / 3

Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: None

2018 CW regular season ranks:

Offence: 34 goals, 2nd
Defence: 22 goals against, 6th

2018 CW regular season leaders:

Goals: 7 – Domenic Poletto & Jacob Low, M
Assists: 4 – Josh Hardy, M
Points: 9 – Domenic Poletto & Jacob Low, M
Wins: 8 – Sebastian Colyn, G
Shutouts: 2 – Sebastian Colyn, G

Key performer:

Joel Waterman
Midfielder
5th-year
Aldergrove, B.C.

The fifth-year Joel Waterman was the Spartans only Canada West all-star and is the man in the middle of the park leading the Spartans at both ends of the field. As captain, he's been the team's leader throughout the season as TWU put together an 8-3-4 season and a second-place finish in the Pacific Division. With Waterman directing traffic, the Spartans have been one of the top teams in Canada West from start to finish this year. Coming off a summer in which he helped Calgary Foothills FC U23 team to a PDL championship, Waterman is keen on earning more hardware, as the Spartans aim for their first conference title since 2007.

UBC THUNDERBIRDS
2018 CW regular season record: 13-1-2, 1st in Pacific

2018 record vs. Final Four teams: 1-0-1 vs. UFV, 2-0-0 vs. TWU, 1-1-0 vs. TRU

Last CW Final Four appearance: 2017 / CW champion

Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2017 / 18

Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2013 / 13

2018 CW regular season ranks:

Offence: 43 goals, 1st
Defence: 10 goals against, 2nd

2018 CW regular season leaders:

Goals: 10 – Kristian Yli-Hietanen, F
Assists: 5 – Zach Verhoven, F
Points: 10 – Caleb Clarke / Kristian Yli-Hietanen, F
Wins: 12 – Jason Roberts, G
Shutouts: 7.5 – Jason Roberts, G

Key performer:

Thomas Gardner
Midfielder
1st-year
North Vancouver, BC

In just his first season with the Thunderbirds, North Vancouver's Thomas Gardner lived up to his billing as one of the most dynamic midfielders in the Canada West. The first-year Arts student scored six times in just 12 regular season games, and his eight points had him third in team scoring. Three of his six goals stood up as game winners. The product of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC2 program was a machine on set pieces, scoring five of his six goals off free kicks, including a streak of four consecutive home games with a free kick tally.

FRASER VALLEY CASCADES
2018 CW regular season record: 7-6-2, 3rd in Pacific Division

2018 record vs. Final Four teams: 0-1-1 vs. UBC, 0-2-0 vs. TWU, 2-0-0 vs. TRU

Last CW Final Four appearance: 2015 / 3rd

Last CW championship / total CW championships: None

Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: None

2018 CW regular season ranks:

Offence: 27 goals, T-4th
Defence: 18 goals against, 3rd

2018 CW regular season leaders:

Goals: 13 – Gurmaan Jhaj, F
Assists: 3 – Brady Weir, M; Andrew Peat, F
Points: 15 – Gurmaan Jhaj, F
Wins: 6 – David Hicks, G
Shutouts: 4 – David Hicks, G

Key performer:

Gurmaan Jhaj
Forward
4th-year
Aldergrove, B.C.

Gurmaan Jhaj had a breakout year for the Cascades, finishing second in Canada West goal-scoring with 13. After spending much of his UFV career as a defensive midfielder, the versatile performer showed his scoring touch after a move up front. He notched the game-winner in five of UFV's seven victories this season, and was named the Canada West male athlete of the month for September.

THOMPSON RIVERS WOLFPACK
2018 CW regular season record: 6-6-3, 4th in Pacific Division

2018 record vs. Final Four teams: 1-1-0 vs. UBC, 1-1-0 vs. Trinity Western, 0-2-0 vs. UFV

Last CW Final Four appearance: 2017 / 3rd

Last CW championship / total CW championships: None

Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: None

2018 CW regular season ranks:

Offence: 27 goals for, 4th
Defence: 20 goals against, 4th

2018 CW regular season leaders:

Goals: 5 - Thomas Lantmeeters, M; James Fraser, F
Assists: 9 - Mitchell Popadynetz, M
Points: 11 - Mitchell Popadynetz, M
Wins: 5 - Jackson Gardner, G
Shutouts: 2 - Alex Ram & Jackson Gardner, G

Key performer:

Mitchell Popadynetz
Midfield
5th-year
Nelson, BC

The defending Canada West player of the year has been 'on fire' since returning from injury. He has three goals and five assists in his last four matches. Mitchell had the second most assists in Canada West (9) and was fifth in league scoring (11) despite only playing 11 matches. Surprisingly, he was left of the Canada West all-star team despite those totals.