The Vikes women's field hockey team lost 1-0 in their home opener against Alberta today. The team now goes down 0-3 in Canada West play and will look to steal points in their second match against Alberta tomorrow, Sept. 25, at 11am.
The Vikes entered this weekend's Alberta doubleheader with some extra confidence as goalkeeper and 2007 Rookie of the Year #
Kaitlyn Williams# suited up. Williams is back for the weekend games in between training with the national team for the Pan American Games.
The first half of the game saw a majority of action played between the 25 yard lines. Although the young Vikes squad maintained good possession, they were unable to capitalize in the other end.
Captain #
Whitney Siegmann# was the most dangerous in the first half. Siegmann single handedly carried the ball from inside her half into the Pandas' circle but was unable to generate an outcome. Siegmann had another close opportunity when she received a cross with lots of time but the shot was fired just wide.
The Pandas were awarded a penalty corner just before the half-time whistle. Despite argument from the UVic bench, the corner was allowed and Alberta defender
Jackie Trautman dragged the ball low and hard passed Williams' non-stick side. The Pandas entered the break with a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Vikes earned their first penalty corner off a dangerous run by #
Stefanie Hatch# and #
Courtney Ellis#. The initial shot by #
Sam Purcell# was blocked but a great follow-up attempt by #
Alexis Veljacic# just skimmed the outside of the post to keep the Vikes off the board.
Action moved end to end with Trautmann dominating the midfield for Alberta and #
Marisa Davidson# and Siegmann continuing to create chances for the Vikes. The blue side was rewarded in the second half with back-to-back corners but were again unable to score.
In a desperate attempt to tie the game, head coach #
Lynne Beecroft# pulled goalkeeper Williams in order to stack the field with 11 field players. Alberta managed to fend off the extra blue attacker and walk away with the 3 points, the second win of their Canada West campaign.
