Timberwolves still in playoff hunt

Playoffs are still a possibility for the UNBC Timberwolves men’s soccer team but the Victoria Vikes are breathing down their necks.

The Vikes (6-7-1) scored a 3-0 victory Friday night in Abbotsford over the Fraser Valley Cascades and now need only a tie in their season-ending game with the third-place Trinity Western Spartans (6-4-4) today in Langley to overtake the fourth-place T-wolves (5-5-6) and eliminate them from the U Sports Canada West Conference playoff race.

Thursday night in Kelowna, the second-place Thompson Rivers University WolfPack (6-3-5) did the T-wolves a favour when they beat the UBC-Okanagan Heat. The loss dropped the Heat (5-6-3) to fifth place. Those teams meet again in the rematch tonight in Kamloops.

If the Vikes are held without a point today and the Heat gains no more than one point against Thompson Rivers, UNBC will clinch its first-ever playoff berth and will start playoffs next weekend against Alberta.

The UNBC women can lock up their first-ever Canada West playoff berth if they win either of their two games left this weekend – Saturday afternoon at Thompson Rivers and Sunday afternoon at UBC-Okanagan.

UNBC (3-7-2) now holds the sixth and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division. TRU (3-8-1) ranks seventh and UBCOkanagan (1-9-2) is eighth.

If the T-wolves tie with TRU on Saturday they would still need a win over the Heat to claim the final playoff berth. If UNBC loses to the WolfPack, they would have to beat the Heat in Kelowna and have Thompson Rivers tie or lose to Grant MacEwan on Sunday.