It's an action-packed weekend on the University of Manitoba campus, as the Bisons football and soccer teams host multiple BC opponents. Click here to get tickets. Students get in free for all home games, as do University of Manitoba alumni and youth 12 and under. You must claim your ticket using the promo codes indicated. Elsewhere, golf is sending two teams to two different locations for their second event of the year. 

Football hosts UBC on Friday at 7 pm 
Looking to keep pace in the competitive Canada West division, the 0-2 Manitoba Bisons welcome the 1-1 UBC Thunderbirds to Investors Group Field on Friday at 7 pm for a late-night clash.

Veteran head coaches Brian Dobie and Blake Nill are no strangers to each other, having met countless times during Nill's tenure with the St. Mary's Huskies, Calgary Dinos and T-Birds. Seven of Dobie's last 13 games coached against Nill since 2010 have been decided by seven points or less. 

The two teams met once during the 2021 regular season and in fitting fashion, the game was decided by two points, with UBC winning 26-24 in a game hosted at Thunderbird Stadium. 

That game saw UBC running backs Isaiah Knight and Dane Kapler combine for 223 rushing yards, and both ball-carriers are off to a strong start again this year. Knight leads the conference with 204 rushing yards, while his 7.8 yards per carry is also sixth in the nation. Kapler, whose performance against Manitoba last year was a career high, ran for 75 yards on just eight carries in a week one win against Alberta this year, and offers a change of pace to Knight's one-cut speed. Quarterback and defending conference Rookie of the Year Garrett Rooker is also a threat to take off in RPO situations. He scored all three of his rushing touchdowns a year ago from the red zone, and needs to be accounted for at all times. 

The T-Birds, who enjoy kicking their guards out in order to help get their running backs in space, are likely to employ a power run scheme. Manitoba's front seven will have a stiff test, but have plenty of playmakers. Defensive tackles and team captains Collin Kornelson and Cole Adamson (drafted by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers) anchor the front four and have combined for 11.5 tackles on the year. Kornelson – who has played edge and tackle in his career – has 6.5 solo tackles, which is the second-most of any defensive lineman in the conference, just behind Mitchell Townsend of the T-Birds, who has seven. 



Offensively for Manitoba, captain AK Gassama is fourth in the conference with 218 receiving yards, good for fourth in the conference. With one more yard he'll eclipse his all-time all total as a Bison, which currently sits at the same number. He'll be used all across the formation, as will running backs Breydon Stubbs and Vaughan Lloyd, while Noah Anderson's north-south style is a change of pace. 

Stubbs recorded a career-high 98 receiving yards coming out of the backfield in week one against Regina, while Lloyd had the best rushing game of his U SPORTS career last week against Alberta, with 43 yards on eight carries. He also had 28 yards receiving against the Rams. 
 
HOOFPRINTS 

• Manitoba is third in the conference in total rushes, with 51, including 21 from their quarterbacks and receivers. 
• There's plenty of BC connections on Manitoba's roster. Notably, defensive back Sebastien Reid is a former BC High School Triple A champion with New Westminster, while running back Noah Anderson helped lead Lord Tweedsmuir to their first-ever BC Triple A final in 2019. 
• Second-year linebacker Isaac Dokken leads the Bisons with 12 tackles through two games. He is on pace to break into the top eight in terms of tackles in a season (48, recorded by James Mau in 2017). The record for most tackles in a season is held by linebackers and special team coach DJ Lalama, who had 72.5 in 2016. 

Soccer hosts UBC at 12 pm on Saturday at the west turf field, Sunday at Investors Group Field at 11:30 am 
Friday's matchup between UBC and Manitoba is likely to feature offensive fireworks as two of the top scoring teams go to work. The T-Birds, who lead the Pacific Division with a 5-0 record, have scored 18 goals, more than any other team in the conference, while Manitoba is fifth overall, with nine goals. 

Fifteen of UBC's goals have come from the combination of Katalin Tolnai (seven), Danielle Steer (five) and Nisa Reehal (three). The trio are part of an aggressive attack that likes to move the ball quickly in transition and get lots of shots on net. With this in mind, possession in the midfield will be critical. Manitoba is a veteran group at the spot, and will look to the likes of captain Jessica Tsai as well as Alex Paul and Dalima Chhibber to help ground the T-Birds on offence. 

For the Bisons, six of their goals have come from Bianca Cavalcanti and Jenna Kunkel, who have three each. Cavalcanti is hard to mark due to her speed and in-game awareness, while Kunkel uses her excellent soccer IQ to get into great positioning, frequently finding the back of the net at opportune times. Both she and Cavalcanti have scored game-winning goals this year for the Herd. 

Wing backs Bianca Bucci and Breyanna Johnston-Krulicki are also important on both ends of the pitch. Johnston-Krulicki has two goals this year, including an impressive blast from 50 yards out, while Bucci has helped facilitate multiple Bisons goals, such as a shot from 30 yards out last week against UNBC that led to Kunkel's game-winner. 

On Sunday, Manitoba will play their first of three games at Investors Group Field. It'll also mark the first time since 2018 that the Herd have played in the stadium, where they have never lost. 

Their opponent Victoria is 0-4-1 on the year in the Pacific Division, and have scored just one goal on the season while allowing 11. Stability in net has been important for the Vikes, who've gotten 37 saves from netminder Kayley Lidstone. That total is the most in the conference. 

Manitoba will get veteran Karina Bagi back for this weekend, after missing last week. She was rock solid in the opening weekend, with a save percentage of 90 percent while only allowing one goal. She also posted one shutout. The clean sheet occurred against Saskatchewan and was the Herd's first road win against the Huskies since 2008. Her veteran presence is critical not only between the posts, but also in terms of communication and facilitation. Her 50-yard pass from inside the box to Cavalcanti eventually led to Manitoba's lone goal against Saskatchewan. 

Golf travels to St. Cloud and Lethbridge 
After starting their season in Minneapolis two weeks ago, the Bisons golf team is on the road again, heading to St. Cloud, Minnesota and Lethbridge, Alberta for a busy weekend. Manitoba's first team will head to St. Cloud for the St. John's Invitational, and includes Cole Peters, Connor Stewart, Stefan Lavallee and Brent Ingram, while their second team of Trent Robertson, Nic Fanning, Derek Benson and Lachlan Allerton will venture to Lethbridge. Click here for a season preview of the golf team. 

The last time Manitoba competed at St. John's was in 2019. It was a successful showing for the group, who finished fourth overall as a team. Lavallee, who is excellent off the tee, was part of the squad that went down, with his second day score of 72 being the second best of any Bison. Peters had the best result of any Bison in their first event of the year in Minneapolis, finishing in a tie for seventh with a two-round score of 149. Lavallee tied for 40th, with his second day total of 75 being the fifth best amongst the field.