VICTORIA – Women's field hockey coach Lynne Beecroft has announced her 31^st University of Victoria Vikes squad that will compete in the 2014 Canada West season. Currently with 11 CIS national titles to her name, Beecroft is known for taking any group of players and turning them into a cohesive unit. This year that bonding begins out east, as the squad will leave for three games against each of Yale, Harvard and Brown from Aug. 23-26.
 
FULL SCHEDULE   |   2014 ROSTER
 
"These games will allow me to see what our athletes need to work on (individually and collectively) to become the best they can be," says Beecroft about her hopeful outcomes from the tour. "This will allow me to help them be prepared to compete against the best teams in Canada West and at the 2014 CIS championship."
 
This year the CIS national championship will also be out east, hosted by the Toronto Varsity Blues, who will also unveil a new artificial water-based pitch for their hosting of the 2015 Pan American Games.
 
This will be the second year that the Vikes begin their season in New York but it is not their first meeting these three American opponents. With flawless win records against Harvard and Brown, the Vikes will look to improve their current 1-2 record with Yale, despite last year's 3-2 win over the Bulldogs.
 
"The team will do training in Central Park and there they will also get to do some team bonding activities," explains Beecroft, known for unveiling her team's theme at some point during a pre-season tour. "We will play Yale in New Haven and then travel to Boston for training and games against Harvard and Brown. This is the second year that Tjerk van Herwaarden has coached Harvard and he is also on staff with the USA national team, so I expect a much tougher match than last year."
 
The recently named Vikes roster boasts a strong freshmen class that includes three players that recently guided Team B.C. to a gold-medal win at the Under 18 national championship.  Jenna Dhillon, Lindsay Cole and Kristina Walters-Shumka are all local Victoria players that will be rookies to watch. Also joining the Vikes this year are Richmond's Delaney Booker and Duncan's Stefanie Langkammer, both members of the B.C. team that took home the bronze at the same national championship. Several of this group was also in attendance at the recent junior national team camp.
 
Anchoring the team will be third-year midfielder and Victoria native Kathleen Leahy who has spent the majority of the summer training with the senior national team. Leahy was on the long list for the recent Glasgow Commonwealth games and competed with the squad in their exhibition matches in Ireland prior to the games. Leahy will compete with the Vikes this fall but will later look to return to the national team program to refocus on the Pan American Games and qualifying for the Rio Olympics.
 
The Vikes will be relying on their third-year class to bring experience, as Alexis Veljacic is the lone senior on the team and defender Alanna Macdonald is the only fourth year. The Vikes graduated fifth-year All-Canadian Kyla Kirby, while five others are also not returning for this season.
 
Last season the Vikes ended a conference banner drought after they defeated UBC 2-0 for the Canada West title in Victoria. It was the Vikes' 16^th Canada West banner but their first since 2002. The Vikes hosted the CIS national championship and finished with a silver medal after a 4-2 loss to national team bolstered UBC line up.
 
The Vikes will face Yale on Aug. 23, Harvard on Aug. 25 and Brown on Aug. 26. The later two games will be at 11 a.m., a nice simulation of the Vikes' home game times for the Canada West season. For schedules, score and more on the Vikes women's field hockey team visit govikesgo.com/WFH
 
GAME SCHEDULE (EST)
Aug. 23 – Victoria vs. Yale (2:00 p.m. @ Yale)
Aug. 25 – Victoria vs Harvard (11:00 a.m. @ Harvard)
Aug. 26 – Victoria vs. Brown (11:00 a.m. @ Harvard)
 
Head to Head Records (W-L-T)
Harvard: 4-0-0
Brown: 3-0-0
Yale: 1-2-0
 
2013 Tour Results
W 3-2 vs. Yale
W 4-1 vs. Harvard
 
2012 Tour Results
L 2-1 vs. Yale
W 2-1 vs. Harvard
W 4-1 vs. Brown
 
2011 Tour Results
W 2-0 vs. Brown
L 5-1 vs. Yale
 
2010 Tour Results
W 4-0 vs. Brown
W 1-0 vs. Harvard
 
2009 Tour
W 2-1 vs. Harvard