After being sidelined for a year, the rivalry between the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen starts again this Thursday, as the 30^th annual Duckworth Challenge begins with women's soccer.

The match takes place at 6 p.m. at the UM West Turf Field. A live stream can be watched pay-per-view on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.

With travel limited due to COVID-19, the Bisons and Wesmen will be very familiar with each other by the end of October. The two cross-town rivals meet a total of four times during the regular season and have already played a friendly back on August 28 (a 0-0 tie).

This Thursday's match has the added importance of the Duckworth Challenge, though — which sees the two schools compete across women's soccer, men's and women's volleyball, and men's and women's basketball. Dating back to the start of the Challenge in 1991-92, Manitoba holds a 17-12 advantage in titles and have won six of nine women's soccer portions since the sport was added to the Challenge in 2013.

More on the history of the Duckworth Challenge

This season, Manitoba is nursing a three-match losing streak, having lost at home to Regina on September 11 (0-1) and then swept on the road by the Saskatchewan Huskies on September 17-18 (2-3, 1-4). The team is encouraged by the process of their last two matches, though, where they rallied and put the Huskies on their back heel in consecutive second halves.

So far this season, the Bisons' offensive attack has lived up to its billing. First-year Brazilian Bianca Cavalcanti is tied for sixth in the nation with three goals in four matches while second-year midfielder Jessica Tsai has looked sharp as a newly minted captain — tallying a goal, two assists, and a team-high 13 shots on goal.

Manitoba will need to be better early in matches, though, as they look for a six-point weekend against the Wesmen. Their record has been directly tied to which team scores first — a season-opening win against Regina saw an energetic two goals in the first 48 minutes. In the three subsequent matches, their opponents have scored first and forced the Bisons to come from behind.

The Wesmen, meanwhile, have yet to win a match this season and scored just one goal, with two losses and two ties against Saskatchewan opponents. If the exhibition match between these two teams is any indication, it will be the back line for Winnipeg that needs to perform well — second-year Wesmen keeper Taryn Raabe currently leads U SPORTS with an impressive 35 saves through four matches.

After Thursday's match, the two teams swap hosting duties on Saturday, with a 12 p.m. match to be played at Waverley Soccer Complex. The Bisons then look forward to a road series against the Regina Cougars on October 2-3.