VICTORIA - Following a disappointing 2012 campaign that saw the University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer team failing to qualify for the CIS national championships, expectations were high for the team entering the 2013 season.
 
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In his 26^th season with the Vikes, head coach Bruce Wilson saw his team open up their season with a disappointing 4-1 loss to the No.1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on home turf, with midfielder Craig Gorman standing as the lone Vike to find the back of the net.
 
The Vikes were back in action the following day as they once again played host, this time to the Trinity Western Spartans. Unlike their opening day matchup, the Vikes were rewarded on their opportunities against the Spartans, receiving a pair of goals from 2011 Rookie of the Year Cam Hundal, as well as Gorman and Kurt Macaulay. Fifth-year goalkeeper Elliot Mitrou was rewarded with his first clean sheet as the Vikes earned their first victory of the season 4-0.
 
Following their two-game home stand, the Vikes headed out on the road to face the Winnipeg Wesmen and Mount Royal Cougars. Picking up where they left off against the Spartans, UVic outshot their opposition heavily, tallying 17 shots to the Wesmen's five in the game. The Vikes would grab a 3-0 stranglehold on the match after the first half of play. In the second half, Vike Dominic Colantonio received his first goal of the season to extend the Vikes lead to 4-0, before a late penalty kick goal and an 85^th minute tally from the Wesmen cut the Vikes lead to 4-2 to finish the match.
 
The offense continued to roll for the Vikes in the second match of the two-game Alberta tour, as Sam Prette, Macaulay and Hundal all netted goals. Goalkeeper Mitrou made three saves in the game that saw six cautions handed out between both sides. The win put the Vikes in a tie for first-place in the Pacific Division alongside UBC with a 3-1-0 record.
 
The Vikes once again played host to the Thunderbirds and Spartans, splitting the weekend with a 4-0 victory over TWU before losing a tightly contested affair with UBC 2-1. Vikes Gavin Barrett and Cameron Stokes carried the Vikes on offense with two goals apiece over the weekend.
 
With a 4-2-0 record, the Vikes geared up to battle the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in a home-and-home matchup with valuable points on the line. The weekend's first game saw UVic's Gorman notching the game's only tally while Mitrou earned his third clean sheet of the season. Following the match, both teams headed to Centennial Stadium for the weekend's second game, where the Vikes fell down 1-0 in the first half before taking control of the game to post a 5-2 victory.
 
The Vikes proceeded to head out on the road once again, visiting the Saskatchewan Huskies and Alberta Pandas. It was a disappointing weekend for the Vikes, as they settled for a 2-2 tie with the Huskies before being shutout by the Pandas 2-0, dropping their season record to 6-3-1 as the Canada West standings began to tighten up heading towards the playoffs.
 
The Vikes played host to the Lethbridge Pronghorns and Calgary Dinos in their final two home games of the 2013 season, Oct. 18 and 19. The Vikes were able to overcome dense fog conditions with goals from Gorman, Stokes, Prette and Macaulay en route to a 4-0 victory.  The victory was followed by a 4-1 win over the Dinos that saw Hundal posting three goals to earn himself Canada West Third Star of the Week honours.
 
The Vikes headed north to face the UNBC Timberwolves in back-to-back matches to close out their regular season, Oct. 26 and 27. Despite travel delays leading up to the match, the Vikes came ready to play, tallying three goals in the opening half and weathering a second-half push by the Timberwolves to earn their third win in a row. The following day they made it four wins in a row, cruising to a 4-0 decision to close out their 2013 regular season with a 10-3-1 record.
 
The Vikes opened up their Canada West Final Six playoffs with an overtime victory over the Calgary Dinos. Playing at UBC's David Sidoo Field, the Vikes received both of their goals from Barrett, who scored his second in overtime at the 111^th minute of play to push his team to the semi-finals against the Huskies.
 
Disappointment followed for the UVic squad, who were defeated 2-1 in both the semifinals and subsequent bronze medal match against the UFV Cascades. As a result, the men failed to advance to the 2013 CIS Championships, finishing with an overall record of 11-5-1.
 
TEAM FACTS
Head Coach: Bruce Wilson (26^th Season)
Assistant Coach: Carlos Almeida
Team Captains: Andrew Ravenhill
2013-14 Key returnees: D Gavin Barrett, D Toshi Hayashi, F Craig Taylor, M Cam Hundal, M Craig Gorman, GK Elliot Mitrou, D Andrew Ravenhill
2013-14 Key departures: M Wesley Barrett, D David Adams, M Nicholas Mavrikos, F Thomas Mallette
 
CIS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (5):  1975, 1987, 1996, 2004, 2011
CANADA WEST CHAMPIONSHIPS (9): 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
2013 CIS ranking: Did not qualify
2013 Canada West Ranking: 4^th
2012 CIS ranking: N/A
2012 Canada West ranking: 6th
Last CIS title: 2011
Last Canada West title: 2009

2013 AWARD WINNERS
Canada West First Team All-Stars: D Andrew Ravenhill, M Cam Hundal, GK Elliot Mitrou
Canada West Second Team All-Stars: Cameron Stokes

2013 ACADEMIC ALL-CANADIANS
Elliot Mitrou
Spencer MacKinnon
Cam Hundal
Dominic Colantonio

SEASON RECORD
Conference: 10-3-1 (2nd)
Canada West Playoffs: 1-2 (4th)
CIS Championship: DNQ

CANADA WEST HIGHLIGHTS
·       Cameron Stokes: 2^nd in conference scoring (14 games played, 11 goals, 5 assists, 16 points)
·       Cameron Stokes, Cam Hundal: Tied for 1^st overall in goals scored (14 games played, 11 goals)
·       Elliot Mitrou: Tied 2^nd overall in total shutouts (5 shutouts)
 
WEEKLY CIS TOP 10 POLLS
10/08/2013 – UVic #10
10/15/2013 – UVic #10
10/22/2013 – UVic #9
10/29/2013 – UVic #6


INDIVIDUAL GAME RESULTS

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION	RESULT	GOAL SCORERS
Sept. 6	UBC	Centennial Stadium	W 4-1	C.Gorman
Sept. 8	TWU	Centennial Stadium	W 4-0	C.Hundal (2), C.Stokes, K.Macaulay
Sept. 13	UofW	Winnipeg, MB	W 4-2	C.Gorman, C.Stokes, C.Hundal, D.Colontonio
Sept. 15	MRU	Calgary, AB	W 3-1	C.Hundal, K.Macaulay, S.Prette
Sept. 20	TWU	Centennial Stadium	W 4-0	C. Stokes (2), K.Macaulay, G. Barrett
Sept. 21	UBC	Centennial Stadium	L 2-1	G. Barrett
Oct. 4	UFV	Abbotsford	W 1-0	C.Gorman
Oct. 6	UFV	Centennial Stadium	W 5-2	C.Stokes (2), A.Redpath, A.Murphy, S.Mackinnon
Oct. 12	UofS	Saskatoon, SK	T 2-2	C.Hundal, C.Stokes
Oct. 13	UofA	Edmonton, AB	L 2-0
Oct. 18	UofL	Centennial Stadium	W 4-0	C. Gorman, C.Stokes, S.Prette, K.Macaulay
Oct. 19	UofC	Centennial Stadium	W 4-1	C.Hundal (3), C.Stokes
Oct. 26	UNBC	Prince George, BC	W 3-2	C.Hundal, G.Barrett, C.Stokes
Oct-27	UNBC	Prince George, BC	W 4-0	C.Hundal (2), C.Stokes, S.Prette
Oct. 31	UofC	Vancouver, BC	W 2-1	G.Barrett (2)
Nov. 1	UofS	Vancouver, BC	L 2-1	C.Gorman
Nov. 3	UFV	Vancouver, BC	L 2-1	C.Hundal