VICTORIA - The University of Victoria Vikes women's soccer team finished their Canada West regular season in good fashion, placing second and earning a right to host the first round of playoffs. The Vikes women will play the Fraser Valley Cascades on Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. for a spot at the Final Four conference playoffs.
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The Vikes women finished their regular season with a 9-2-1 record with the losses handed by the Saskatchewan Huskies and the No. 3 Trinity Western Spartans. The Vikes currently grasp the No. 5 spot on the CIS top-10 charts after finishing second in conference play. The top eight teams in the Canada West have qualified for a chance to move on to the Final Four championship, where an ultimate crown will be awarded for the lone seed to head to the CIS national championship being hosted at the University of Victoria, Nov. 8-11.
Following the regular season, the Fraser Valley Cascades grabbed seventh place in the conference with a 6-5-1 record and will travel to the island to face the Vikes women. The Cascades and Vikes previously met in a one-off contest, where the UVic side prevailed 1-0 off a goal from Canada West leading goal scorer Emma Greig (Tofino, BC) Greig ended the regular season with 14 goals and three assists. Of the 14 goals scored, Greig earned three separate hat tricks and has scored a conference-high four game-winning goals.
Three other Vikes are on the leader board for scoring including rookie Sarah Douglas (London, ONT) and midfield veterans Lindsay Hoetzel (Victoria, BC) and Jacqueline Harrison (Whitehorse, YT) who each have six goals to their name. Goalkeeper Stephanie Parker (Chemainus, BC) has proved her fifth-year status by allowing only five goals, posting four shutouts and boasting a 0.49 goals-against average.
The Cascades enter the weekend looking to rebound off a three-game losing streak after conceding losses to Victoria, Trinity Western over the past two weekends. The Cascades are led by Carly Neeson who has four goals and four assists, as well as Paige Friesen with three goals and five assists. Keeper Chantelle Biagioni has been solid in net with three shutouts to her name.
The Vikes women will square off with the Cascades on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. at Centennial Stadium. The winner will move on to the Canada West Final Four and vie for a spot to the CIS national championship. For the Vikes, a conference banner title will be the goal, as the UVic women already guarantee a berth as hosts. The Vikes have not won the Canada West banner since 2008 and have not won the CIS title since their lone title in 2005.
In other playoff matches, conference leaders Trinity Western will host Manitoba on Oct. 26 at 5:00 p.m., while UBC will host Alberta at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 27. The final Canada West match up will see Saskatchewan hosted by the Regina Cougars at 12:00 p.m. on Oct. 28. Live broadcasts and stats will be available at http://canadawest.tv
