With four sports now fully underway, it was a largely positive weekend for the Vikes, with the men’s and women’s soccer teams winning matches, the men’s rugby team brushing aside local competition, men’s golf performing well at their first invitational of the season, and the women’s field hockey team sweeping their close rivals to start their season off with a bang.
The Vikes’ soccer teams had a successful weekend, with the men’s team winning one game and losing another, while the women notched their first two wins of the season in a doubleheader in Victoria.
Cam Hundal was the men’s best player, as he provided the assist for the only goal in a 1-0 win against Trinity Western University on Friday, Sept. 18. His goal the next day against Fraser Valley proved only to be a consolation, however, as the Vikes lost their first game of the season by 2 goals to 1 (although the men still sit first in their standings).
Back in Victoria, the women’s soccer team, who were without a win going into the weekend, did exceptionally well to buck the trend and defeat both UNBC and the University of Alberta by scores of 6-0 and 3-1 respectively. Kiara Kilbey and Emily Lieuwen scored a goal in each game, and captain Emma Greig scored her second of the season against the U of A to ensure a six-point weekend and move the women up to fourth in Canada West standings.
In men’s rugby, the Vikes got their season off to a tremendous start, beating James Bay by a score of 32-0. Winger Crosby Stewart scored two tries, while outside-half Giussepe du Troit added to the score with two successful conversions and a penalty. The men’s team will play James Bay three more times throughout the season, with games against Westshore Velox and Castaway Wanderers yet to come as well.
There were more positive results for the women’s field hockey team, as they swept UBC in two games held at UVic over the weekend by scores of 3-0 and 2-0. The Vikes utterly dominated in both games, outshooting the T-birds 37-1. Forward Amanda Kurianowicz scored in both games, and captain Katherine Leahy added a goal in the second game. The results bode well for the Vikes, who defeated a strong UBC team that has won the last four CIS women’s field hockey championships. UVic themselves host the CIS championship in November of this year.
Finally, the men’s golf team performed well at their first competition of the season. The team travelled to Olympia, Wash., over the weekend, to compete in the Saint Martin’s invitational tournament. The Vikes finished fourth, with second-year Lawren Rowe finishing first amongst his UVic teammates and fourth in the competition overall. The men’s golf team will travel to their second tournament in Bellingham, Wash., over the next few days, before playing the Vikes Shootout at Cadboro Bay Golf Course in October.
The men’s and women’s soccer teams play this weekend, with the men facing UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers at home on the 25th and 26th respectively. The women travel to the mainland to face Thompson River as well, while the men’s rugby play Westshore Velox in Langford. The women’s rugby team also starts their season next weekend, facing Lethbridge at Wallace Field on Friday the 26th
