VICTORIA, B.C. - The top two teams in the Canada West Pacific Division will meet on Oct. 9 when the University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer team travel to Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, B.C to take on rivals the UBC Thunderbirds. After thumping the Thompson Rivers WolfPack 5-1 on Sept. 26 at Centennial Stadium, the Vikes pushed into second place with a record of 4-2-1. UBC hold the top spot with an undefeated record of 6-0-1.

The match up pits Pacific Division's most potent offences against eachother head-to-head for the second time this season. The Vikes have put past a division-leading 18 goals past their opponents with the T-Birds following behind with 14. A pair of CIS Championship MVPs from 2011 and 2012 meet on the same field again in veterans Cam Hundal, of the Vikes, and Gagan Dosanjh, of the T-Birds, respectively.

A four-goal second half -- including a hat-trick from Hundal -- helped the Vikes past the WolfPack 5-1 on Sept. 26 after losing a two-goal lead against UBC Okanagan in a 2-2 draw on Sept. 25. The T-Birds have yet to lose this season, with the only points dropped this season coming in a season-opening 1-1 draw with the Vikes on Sept. 5 in Vancouver.

The T-Birds have found themselves alone at the top of the division for most of the season, but the Vikes are making a push for their mainland rivals and would do themselves a big favour in the points department by taking all three points this weekend. With Fraser Valley behind them in third place with 13 points, the Vikes have a crucial game-in-hand on the Cascades that could help create some seperation between them and the pack. A win could help the Vikes on both sides of the standings.

T-Birds' goalkeeper Chad Bush has played all 630 minutes this season for the T-Birds, registering the Canada West lead in that time in save percentage and goals-against average with .840 and 0.57, respectively. Fifth-year forward and former 2012 CIS Championship MVP leads the T-Birds with three goals and 27 shots, following closely behind Vikes' midfielder Craig Gorman for the Canada West lead of 34 shots. First-year midfielder Kerman Pannu has made an impact in his first season already, scoring game-winning goals in wins over UBC Okanagan and the UNBC Timberwolves.

The Vikes have exploited their strengths through the midfield and down the wings this season to get the most out of their opponenets -- exemplified through the positive performance of players like fifth-year veterans Hundal and Dominic Colantonio. The majority of the Vikes' goals this season -- a total of 15 out of 17 -- have come from the midfield. Defender Keevan Webb is the exception thanks to goals in the Vikes' opening wins against the Timberwolves.

The Vikes play the Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. in Vancouver. The game will be live at canadawest.tv.