A history of homefield dominance adds allure to an already exciting announcement
Illustration by Sona Eidnani.
The last time the Vikes men’s soccer team won the Sam Davidson Memorial award, it was in front of a crowd of over 3 000 of their own fans.
Next year, they’ll have a chance to do it again.
Just like they did in 2011, the Vikes men’s soccer team has won their bid to host the 2026 USports Championships. In November of next year, they’ll enjoy not just the excitement and attention that comes with the arrival of the eight best university soccer teams in the country, but also the ability to pit themselves against those squads, as host universities receive an automatic place in the championships.
“This is obviously a huge opportunity, and it’s really exciting for our program and our current players,” head coach Larry Stefanek said in a press release.
And he’s right. This is a big deal for the Vikes, whose last appearance in the USports Championships came in 2021. It becomes even more significant when you look at what home field advantage has historically meant for the team.
Two of the Vikes’ five championship trophies have been won in Victoria. This past season, they went undefeated in Centennial Stadium. The year before that, they lost only a single game.
In 2022–23, they once again lost only a single home game, but somehow managed to put up an absolutely abysmal 0–7–2 record on the road, en route to a tragic campaign that saw them finish last in the division and miss the playoffs entirely. It’s clear that island living agrees with the Vikes men’s soccer players.
The beauty of a host berth in the championship is that tournaments are consistently unpredictable. In a single elimination knockout, anything can happen. The cup favourites can have the worst game of their lives, the underdogs have the potential to play their hearts out, and anyone can end up hoisting a banner.
In 2011, the Vikes were knocked out by Alberta in the semifinal round of the Canada West Final Four. To make matters worse, one of their veteran defenders, Bobby Eng, sustained a season-ending injury. It looked like a lost season for the Victoria team. But, against all odds, Centennial Stadium worked its magic, and the Vikes went on a Cinderella run all the way to the USports Gold Medal Game, where they cruised to a 3–1 victory against the St. Mary’s Huskies.
The Vikes look to be in a good place for a real 2026 push. They were a solid club this season. Though their Canada West tournament ended in a heartbreaking double overtime loss to Mount Royal, there were real positive takeaways from the year. Not only were they a force at home, but they went undefeated against UBC, the steamroller of a squad who would go on to win their 14th national title this year. However, most notable was the rapid growth of young players like Matthew Pearse and Mattheus Achadinha, the duo who finished first and second on Vikes scoring leaderboards.
In 2026, Pearse — who is already the star of this Vikes team — will be in his fourth year. So will Achadinha, whose attacking style of defense is only getting more lethal. And Callum Weir, the Vikes’ second-year goalkeeper who took home first-team all star honours this year after posting 11 clean sheets in only 15 games, should be an absolute brick wall as a senior player.
The USports championships are far from the biggest tournament coming to B.C. in 2026. In June and July, Vancouver will play host to some of the best players in the entire world, as the FIFA World Cup makes its way to North America. The World Cup will hopefully inspire and energize Canada’s soccer community, and could lead to some of the most intense university soccer we’ve seen in years. And at this rate, the Vikes should be right in the centre of it all.
Bookmark your calendars for November 2026. It’s banner-raising time.
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