The game drew in a raucous Thunderfest crowd, filling Centennial Stadium
Photo by Justin Morash.
On Sept. 11, this year’s ThunderFest was reconfigured for the first time; the men’s soccer game was first at 5 p.m., and the women’s game followed at 7:15 p.m., both against the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack. On Aug. 27, during a pre-season exhibition in Kamloops at Hillside Stadium, the Vikes lost against the WolfPack 1-0. The opening game at ThunderFest gave the Vikes a chance to rewrite that narrative.
The change to the start time of the men’s game meant that the parking lot outside of Centennial Stadium filled with students trying to get a seat in the grandstands before the game began. The “No Alcohol Permitted Inside” policy meant that people were guzzling their drinks outside. ThunderFest activities started at 11:30 a.m. that day, and the odds that students ate enough during the maelstrom of excitement and activity weren’t great.
Within the minutes of the opening whistle, the line between fair and foul contact blurred. The crowd, of 3 000 and still climbing, made its opinions heard. After a series of brutal body checks from TRU, the crowd was in an uproar; “Fuck you, TRU, fuck you, TRU,” they shouted, and a few banged on empty five-gallon water jugs, using them as makeshift drums. The Vikes eventually fought back, sending a WolfPack player off the pitch for medical attention — prompting derogatory chants from the audience.
Despite numerous attempts at both nets, neither team was able to gain an advantage until the end of the first half. Fourth-year Mattheus Achadinha took a shot, and a WolfPack defender used his hand to block the goal. The crowd erupted, chanting: “You can’t do that, you can’t do that.” Fourth-year Jack Napier-Ganley took the penalty kick, earning the Vikes their first goal.
The tensions between players didn’t subside after half-time. Following a few aggressive minutes, Vikes goalkeeper Callum Weir called for the ball from his team. Jag Zaharia found an opportunity and sent the ball to Weir. Instead of rushing a play, Weir signalled to his teammates to slow down, repeating, “Calm, calm, calm, calm.” His instruction had the desired effect.
Soon after, fifth-year Evan Larson received a beautifully controlled pass from fourth-year Felipe Morales Moya, and scored the Vikes’ second goal of the game. Then, fifth-year Connor Legge succeeded in tricking the Wolfpacks’ goalkeeper, earning the third point for the Vikes.
With only a few minutes left on the clock, fourth-year Aiden Grew managed to cross the ball to second-year Wesley Jones, who scored a thrilling fourth and final goal.
In an interview with the Martlet after the game, fourth year defender Jag Zaharia said “They’re not a team we should [have lost] to, and they definitely were more physical than we expected.”
“Today we really turned the tables, and had a bunch of fans,” Zaharia said. “It was awesome to perform well against them.”
The Vikes play their next home match at Centennial Stadium against the Mount Royal University Cougars on Oct. 2.
