The University of Victoria Vikes women's field hockey team were handed their second loss in as as many games on day one of the FHC - CIS national championship on Nov. 1 at Varsity Centre in Toronto, Ont. The No. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds dominated with a 4-0 win over the winless Vikes who move to a 0-2-0 record.

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After tying hosts and the No. 2 seeded Toronto Varsity Blues in game one of opening day, the Thunderbirds found their comfort level only seven minutes into the  match. Both UBC and the Vikes have had to take their opening games to adjust to the rubber-based pitch, which is slower and more bouncy than the water-based facilities that dominate the West coast field hockey communities. 

Second-year defender Sara McManus of Delta, B.C., opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a straight shot off a penalty corner that would stand as the game-winner. The first half would end with both teams trading chances but neither able to capitalize on alternating penalty corners.
 
The score remained close until the 41^st minute when CIS all-Canadian Natalie Sourisseau put UBC up by two. The Kelowna, B.C. native corralled the ball in the circle before firing it into the top right corner for the first of two on the night.
 
With momentum building, Vancouver native Cassandra Tayler added a third goal as an insurance marker in the 53^rd minute. With only five minutes left, Sourisseau would add her second of the match to seal the four-goal victory for the Thunderbirds and move them into a tie for first with the No. 2 Varsity Blues after two games.
 
Richmond, B.C.'s Bea Francisco notched her fifth shutout of the season and second straight against the Vikes. The third-year keeper was only really tested once and stacked the pads for a save on a break late in the first half. Dating back to their final regular season game the Thunderbirds have now outscored Victoria 10-0 in the last 140 minutes of play against each other. 
 
The two teams met four times during the regular season, with UBC sweeping the series by a combined score of 15-3.
 
Victoria (0-2-0) goes up against fourth-seed Western Mustangs (0-1-0) at 9:20 a.m. PST tomorrow in a match that could have heavy implications for a medal on Sunday. 
 
“I'm quite proud of my athletes and we've got a big game tomorrow,” said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft. “We'd obviously like to be playing for a medal. If we do our job against Western we at least have a chance to play for the bronze medal on Sunday.”
 
The Thunderbirds (1-0-1) take on the No. 3 Guelph Gryphons (1-0-0) in the final game of Day 2, tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m PST.

SCORING SUMMARY
UBC: 1-3: 4
VIC: 0-0: 0
 
First half
UBC Sara McManus (1), 7^th
 
Second half
UBC Natalie Sourisseau (1), 41^st
UBC Cassandra Tayler (1), 53^rd
UBC Natalie Sourisseau (2), 65^th


Goaltenders
UBC: Bea Francisco (W, 70:00, 0 GA, 1-0-1)
VIC: Sheriden Goodmanson (L, 70:00, 4 GA, 0-2-0)
 
Players of the game
UBC: Natalie Sourisseau (Kelowna, B.C.)
VIC: Allana Macdonald (Vancouver, B.C.)
 

PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING

 
1. UBC (Canada West champions)
2. Toronto (OUA champions)
3. Guelph (OUA finalists)
4. Victoria (Canada West second place)
5. Western (OUA bronze medallists)
 
STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS
 
Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/index
 
Round-robin standings (after 3 of 10 games)
 
                        GP       W        L          T          GF       GA      PTS
1. Toronto       2          1          0          1          7          1          4
2. UBC             2          1          0          1          5          1          4
3. Guelph         1          1          0          0          5          0          3
4. Victoria        2          0          2          0          0          9          0
5. Western       1          0          1          0          0          6          0
 
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.

Game times below listed in EST:
 
Thursday, Nov. 1
9:30 Game 1: UBC 1 Toronto 1
11:50 Game 2: Guelph 5 Victoria 0
15:30 Game 3: Toronto 6 Western 0
17:50 Game 4: UBC 4 vs. Victoria 0
 
Friday, Nov. 2
10:00 Game 5: Guelph vs. Toronto (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
12:20 Game 6: Victoria vs. Western (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
16:00 Game 7: UBC vs. Guelph (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
 
Saturday, Nov. 3
10:00 Game 8: Guelph vs. Western (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
12:20 Game 9: Toronto vs. Victoria (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
16:00 Game 10: UBC vs. Western (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
17:30 Tie-Breaking Strokes (if necessary)
 
Sunday, Nov. 4
10:00 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)
13:00 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv webcast)