2012 SEASON RE-CAP

Following a phenomenally successful season that culminated with a CIS Championship title, the University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer team suffered from a “sophomore slump” as they went 6-6-2 for the season and fell short of qualifying for this year's national tournament held in Laval, Que.

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At the helm of the squad for his 25^th season, head coach Bruce Wilson opened up conference play with two home games against CIS-newcomers the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves. The UVic men went 3-1 in the first match-up of the doubleheader and posted an even greater goal differential win the second day with a score of 8-0 as goalkeeper Elliot Mitrou (Victoria, B.C.) earned his first shutout of the season.               
 
The following weekend the Vikes travelled to the mainland to take on the Trinity Western University Spartans and the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. The Spartans were the first to get on the board and were up by two going into the second half of play. In the 66^th minute the TWU men went up by three to seal the deal. A penalty kick awarded to the Vikes was made good by Craig Gorman (Victoria, B.C.) but it was a case of too little too late and the UVic men were handed their first regular season loss since playing Trinity Western the same time last year as they went on a 12-game win streak.
 
In their second match-up of the weekend against Pacific powerhouses and future CIS champions, the UBC Thunderbirds, the Vikes lost the result by a lone goal with a score of 1-0. The UVic men ran into more trouble as fifth-year veteran Wesley Barrett (Richmond, B.C.) went down after a hard shoulder-to-shoulder play and would not return to action until their last two games of the season.
 
The Vikes continued to struggle on the road as the next weekend they travelled to Alberta and conceded two more losses. This time against the University of Calgary Dinos and the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns, the UVic men now posted a record of 2-4-0.
 
Returning home the following weekend to host the University of Alberta Golden Bears and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, the Vikes improved to 4-4-0 as they took two wins from the visiting prairie sides, 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. Goalkeeper Mitrou earned another two shutouts to add to his season's record.
 
Thanksgiving weekend saw the Vikes play a home and away series against the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades. Travelling to Abbotsford for the first match-up, the Vikes drew the tough-nosed Cascades 2-2 with goals from midfielder Craig Taylor (Victoria, B.C.) and defender Gavin Barrett (Richmond, B.C.). Back to Victoria for their second game of the weekend, the Vikes eked out a 2-1 win against the Cascades with goals from Gorman and again, Taylor. 
 
With four regular season games remaining, the Vikes were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive as they again travelled to UBC and TWU for another weekend of matches. The Vikes dropped both results 2-1, effectively losing all but one away game this season.
 
Their final weekend of play saw the UVic men host CIS newcomers Mount Royal University Cougars and the University of Winnipeg Wesmen. A 3-0 win against the Cougars was good enough to maintain an edge over the Cascades and the Vikes held on to their sixth playoff spot. The weekend's weather had not been conducive to good field conditions and the Vikes were forced to hold their final match of the season, against the winless Wesmen, on a much smaller artificial playing surface. Amidst the fall rainstorm, the Vikes lost to the Winnipeg side 2-0 and closed out their regular season with a record of 6-6-2.
 
Finishing third in Canada West's Pacific Division and earning the playoff nod, the Vikes were Edmonton-bound for the conference's Final Six tournament. After an early season snowfall and a frozen field, the first round of games had to be rescheduled and the Vikes were forced to wait another day to take on Prairie rivals, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
 
Despite having territorial advantage for the majority of the game, recording 13 shots and several dangerous runs sparked by a newly returned Barrett and last season's Rookie of the Year Cam Hundal (Terrace, B.C. ), the Vikes were unable to get on the board and ultimately, lost the game 2-0. The one game knock-out style of the tournament meant that the Vikes were out of contention to qualify for the 2012 CIS Championship.

TEAM FACTS

Head Coach: Bruce Wilson (25^th Season)
Assistant Coach: Justin Manz, Carlos Almeida
Team Captains: Wesley Barrett, David Adams
2013-14 Key returnees: D Gavin Barrett, D Toshi Hayashi, F Craig Taylor, M Thomas Mallette, M Cam Hundal, M Craig Gorman, GK Elliot Mitrou
2013-14 Key departures: D David Adams, D Wesley Barrett
 
CIS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (5):  1975, 1987, 1996, 2004, 2011
CANADA WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS (6): 1987, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009
CIS COACH OF THE YEAR (2): 1991, 1996
CANADA WEST COACH OF THE YEAR (9): 1991, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011

RANKINGS / HISTORY

2012 CIS ranking: did not qualify
2012 Canada West Ranking: 6^th
2011 CIS ranking: 1^st
2011 Canada West ranking: 3^rd
Last CIS title: 2011
Last Canada West title: 2009

2012 AWARD WINNERS

Canada West First Team All-Stars: D Andrew Ravenhill
Canada West Second Team All-Stars: D Gavin Barrett, M Cam Hundal
Major Award Winners: Victoria, Fair Play Award

2012 ACADEMIC ALL-CANADIANS

David Adams

SEASON RECORD

Conference: 6-6-2
Playoffs: 0
CIS Championship: N/A

CANADA WEST HIGHLIGHTS

• Craig Gorman 7^th for most goals scored (11 games played, 6 goals – 0.55 avg/G)
• Elliot Mitrou 8^th for goals against average (14 games played, 20 goals against – 1.43 avg)
• Elliot Mitrou tied 7^th for shutouts (14 games played, 3 shutouts – 0.21 SO/Gm)

WEEKLY CIS TOP 10 POLLS

09/04/2012 – UVic #1
09/11/2012 – UVic #1

GAME BY GAME RESULTS

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION	RESULT	GOAL SCORERS
Sept-7	UNBC	Centennial Stadium	W 3-1	C. Taylor (2), C. Gorman
Sept-8	UNBC	Centennial Stadium	W 8-0	C. Stokes (2), T. Mallette, A. Platinga, K. Macauley, C. Taylor, N. Mavrikos, S. Prette
Sept-14	Trinity Western	Langley, BC	L 1-3	C. Gorman
Sept-15	UBC	Vancouver, BC	L 0-1
Sept-22	Calgary	Calgary, Alta.	L 1-3	C. Stokes
Sept-23	Lethbridge	Lethbridge, Alta.	T 1-1	G. Barrett
Sept-28	Alberta	Centennial Stadium	W 1-0
Sept-29	Saskatchewan	Centennial Stadium	W 2-0	G. Barrett, C. Gorman
Oct-5	Fraser Valley	Abbotsford, BC	T 2-2	C. Taylor, G. Barrett
Oct-7	Fraser Valley	Centennial Stadium	W 2-1	C. Gorman, C. Taylor
Oct-19	UBC	Vancouver, BC	L 1-2	C. Gorman
Oct-20	Trinity Western	Langley, BC	L 1-2	C. Stokes
Oct-26	Mount Royal	Centennial Stadium	W 3-0	N. Mavrikos, C. Hundal
Oct-27	Winnipeg	Centennial Stadium	L 0-2
Nov. 2	Saskatchewan	Edmonton, Alta.	L 0-2