VICTORIA - The women's field hockey team's season will come to a close this weekend as the Vikes host the Calgary Dinos on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23. Both games will take place at the UVic artificial field hockey pitch at 11 a.m.

The UVic women kicked off their 2011 campaign with a great pre-season run in Boston against Yale, Dartmouth and Brown ending the series 2-1. The Vikes entered the Canada West with three straight losses, two to Calgary and one to Alberta. Both Calgary and Alberta have been pushing the usual western conference finalists, UVic and UBC, over the past decade and this year it has paid off. Both the Dinos and Pandas will qualify for the 2011 CIS National Championships since the Dinos, currently 4-3-3, will automatically attend as hosts . With a current 2-7-1 record, the Vikes will finish Canada West in fourth place.

In 28 seasons, head coach #Lynne Beecroft# has only failed to qualify for the CIS National Championships one other time, back in 2005 when the team consisted of eleven rookies and 5 second-year athletes. Though the Vikes may not contest for a Championship banner they will battle in their final games against the Dinos and honour a few graduating players playing their final games in the Vikes uniform.

Seniors #Jasleen Aujla# (Surrey, B.C.), #Courtney Low# (Richmond, B.C.) and #Angela Buttress# (North Vancouver, B.C.) will all play their final two UVic games this weekend, along with co-captain #Whitney Siegmann# (Kelowna, B.C.), graduating UVic and leaving a year of eligibility behind.

All four athletes were a part of the 2008 Championship team that won on home soil. Siegmann, who was not itially a part of theam was called upon later in the season when Low was unable to compete due to injury. When Championship time arrived, both Low and Siegmann were asked to suit up and now, both are leading the young 2011 squad.

Graduating goalkeeper #Kaitlyn Williams# (White Rock, B.C.) will not be pressent at the Calgary games this weekend, as she is currently competing with the Canadian National team at the Pan American Games. The four 2011 Canada West games Williams competed in were highlights for the Vikes, as Williams posted a 3-0 shutout against UBC on Oct. 1 and was exceptional in the close 2-1 loss to the Birds the following day.

The Calgary Dinos have made an exceptional Canada West campaign despite their automatic berth to Nationals. They are currently 4-3-3, in second place in Canada West and one point ahead of the Pandas. The Dinos shut out the Vikes with two wins to open their season, tallied an impressive 1-1 tie with UBC on Oct. 9 and continued a shut out weekend defeating the Pandas 2-0 and 1-0 last weekend. Kaitlyn Longworth, Keara Chacquen and Courtney Campbell have been the leading goal scorers for the red hot Calgary team. The Dinos will be looking to boost their standings this weekend and prove their presence at Nationals is a mark of their talents on the pitch and not because of hosting duties.

SCOUTING THE VICTORIA VIKES
Current season: 2-7-1 (4th in CW)
2010 conference record: 6-4-2 (2nd)
CIS tournament: 1-3
Last CW title: 2002
Last CIS title: 2008
Key additions: F #Marisa Davidson#, GK #Leah Farna#n, D #Emily Fisher#, D #Sam Purcell#, GK #Alexandra Martinuik#
Key returnees: D/M #Jasleen Aujla#, D #Kyla Kirby#, F #Courtney Low#, F #Whitney Siegmann#, G #Kaitlyn Williams#
Key departures: D #Katie Bennett#, D #Perri Espeseth#, M #Danielle Hennig#

SCOUTING THE CALGARY DINOS
Current season: 4-3-3 (2nd in CW)
2010 conference record: 5-5-2 (3rd)
CIS tournament: N/A
Last CW title: 1970
Last CIS title: none
Key additions: Sam Spearn
Key returnees: Courtney Campbell, Carolina Romeo, Stephanie Petrowitsch
Key departures: N/A