The UVic Vikes women's field hockey team commenced their pre-season tour, falling 5-1 to the Yale Bulldogs in their first match on Saturday in New Haven, CT. The Vikes lone goal came from rookie forward Marisa Davidson (Kelowna, B.C.).

UVic had to battle both the Bulldogs and the inclement weather brought on by Hurricane Irene, holding the game to a 0-0 tie for the first 20 minutes in a torrential downpour. Yale was able to go up first on the board and continued to earn a total of three unanswered goals.

The Vikes finally ended the Yale streak when veteran defender #Jasleen Aujla# (Surrey, B.C.), transferred the ball to the right side of the field. #Samantha Purcell# (West Vancouver, B.C.) helped the ball towards goal and a waiting Davidson was able to bury the rebound to leave the Vikes down 3-1 at halftime.

UVIc turned it on in the second half, hemming the Bulldogs in their end of the field. Numerous shots flew just wide of the net including a #Whitney Siegmann# (Kelowna, B.C.) flick that went just over the crossbar. Continuing to threaten the Bulldogs defence, Davidson found herself on a one-on-one opportunity to put the Vikes up by two, but she was unable to capitalize.

Yale pocketed two more goals to give the Bulldogs the 5-1 edge.

Vikes head coach #Lynne Beecroft# will look to keep improving her Vikes squad, equipped with five rookies this season, as they continue their pre-game season with games against Harvard, Dartmouth and Brown (FULL SCHEDULE).