VICTORIA – In the annual four-team, men's and women's, Keg Spring Cup tournament, hosted at Uvic's Centennial Stadium, Mar. 23-24, four teams advanced to the finals, set to take place tomorrow. The Vikes women will face off with the defending CIS national champions, the Trinity Western Spartans, at 2 p.m. tomorrow, while the Vikes men will face, also defending CIS champions, the UBC Thunderbirds. This is the second-straight Vikes-Spartans match up in the Keg Cup final for the women. In the third-place game, the UBC Thunderbirds will face the Alberta Pandas for the women, while the men's game will feature the Spartans and Fraser Valley Cascades. For more information visit www.govikesgo.com/kegcup
GAME 1: Women – UBC (1) – Trinity Western (2)
The annual Keg Spring Cup kicked off with two western powerhouses stacked with CIS talent . The defending CIS national women's soccer champions, the Trinity Western Spartans, showcased several familiar faces who were recognized at Centennial Stadium only four months ago including CIS All-Canadians
Colleen Webber,
Krista Gommeringer and
Natalie Boyd. Not present at this year's Keg Cup are CIS first-team All-Canadian goalkeeper
Kristen Funk and fellow fifth year striker
Nikki Wright. For the T-Birds, who missed out on CIS championship qualification in 2012, familiar faces in Canada West Player of the Year
Janine Frazao and Canada West all-stars
Alicia Penev and
Rachel Sawer all made appearances.
UBC striker
Taryn Lim notched the lone first-half goal, as she headed in a cross from the left side that came from
Frazao. The Spartans trailed the rest of the half despite out-shooting the T-Birds 4-2. Late in the half, Trinity Western turned on their offence with shots from Webber, Boyd and a close chance for Gommeringer. The Spartans were unable to capitalize, leaving UBC keepr
Leah Peric with the clean slate at the break. In the 47th minute, second-year defender Kovacs got Trinity Western on the board as her blast from the top of the 18-yard-box got the scorelined squared at one. In the 77th minute, Boyd had a well-struck, long-range shot that just skimmed the top of the cross bar to keep the game tied. The Spartans finally found their go-ahead goal when Gommeringer tapped a ball from inside the box splitting the UBC defence for
Caitlin Haines to slide into the net to lift Trinity Western up 2-1, which would stand as the final score.
SCORING SUMMARY
TWU: 0 - 2 : 2
UBC: 1 - 0 : 1
GOAL SCORERS
TWU: Vanessa Kovacs (47'), Caitlin Haines (84')
UBC: Taryn Lim (7')
GAME 2: Men – UBC (4) – Trinity Western (0)
The defending CIS national champions, the UBC Thunderbids, dominated with first-half goals from
Bryan Fong and
Harry Lakhan. Fong's goal came in the 32nd minute after he redirected a free kick taken by
Navid Mashinchi. Despite even play in the opening 15 minutes, UBC found some offensive momentum that was sparked by a series of plays from Canada West Player of the Year
Gagandeep Dosanjh. In the 44th minute, Lakhan notched the second goal for the Birds after he fired a one-timer off a loose ball that rolled outside the 18-yard box, giving UBC the 2-0 go-ahead entering the break.
The Thunderbirds continued their offensive push with two more goals early in the second half.
Daniel Gazzola's goal in the 53rd minute was quickly followed by a 58th-minute finish by
Reynold Stewart. Stewart held off his defender to blast a shot past Spartans keeper,
Evan Lowther, into the top left corner of the net. The Spartans struggled to match UBC's pace at the start of the half but managed a few good chances as the half wore on. Trinity Western's recovery came too late and time ran out keeping them off the board entirely. UBC powered their way to a 4-0 final score.
SCORING SUMMARY:
TWU: 0 - 0 : 0
UBC: 2 - 2 : 4
GOAL SCORERS:
UBC: Bryan Fong (32'), Harry Lakhan (44'), Daniel Gazzola (53'), Reynold Stewart (58')
TWU: N/A
GAME 3: Women – UVic (3) – Alberta (0)
The University of Alberta Pandas matched the CIS bronze medallist UVic Vikes' pace at the start of the opening half but a lapse in defensive concentration allowed
Lindsay Hoetzel to slot in a goal at the 14th minute. Hoetzel showed impressive individual talent, taking the ball around Alberta keeper,
Kelti Biggs, leaving her an open net to lift the Vikes up 1-0. Both teams had their fair share of opportunities but the VIkes captalized again in the 42nd minute to grab a 2-0 cushion entering the break. The goal came when
Maryse Reichgeld's chip from outside the 18-yard-box cleared the keeper's head and sailed into the left corner.
The Vikes started the second half with a 46th minute goal by
Jacqueline Harrison. Harrison's low show crossed the mouth of the goal finding its way into the far right netting. There were a few daring attempts by both sides but neither team was able to finish. Alberta almost had a goal when UVic keeper,
Tanya Jones, miss timed a catch and the ball dropped down into a very dangerous area of play. Fortunately for the Jones, the ball was cleared easily by the Vikes defenders. The Vikes grabbed the 3-0 win and move on to face the Trinity Western Spartans in the final Sunday.
SCORING SUMMARY:
UVIC: 2 - 1 : 3
ALB: 0 - 0 : 0
GOAL SCORERS:
UVIC:
Lindsay Hoetzell (14'),
Maryse Reichgeld (42'), Jackie Harrison (46')
ALB: N/A
GAME 4: Men – UVic - Fraser Valley
The Vikes started out strong with an early goal in the fifth minute of play from
Gavin Barrett. Barrett flicked the ball into the far netting off a corner taken by
Craig Taylor. Uvic followed up 17 minutes later with another goal, this time coming from midfielder
Cam Hundal. Hundal beat Cascades keeper,
Mark Village, on the near side after recieving a sneaky through ball from
Thomas Mallette at the top of the 18-yard-box. The game picked up in physicallity as Fraser Valley pushed to get on the board. Victoria's
Andrew Ravenhill was cautioned in the 27th minute but he was soon joined in the referee's book by Fraser Valley's
Jared Gibbons.
Dalibor Plavsic became the second Cascade to be cautioned when he was given a yellow in the 39th minute. Fraser Valley made a late push near the end of the second but could not connect on the end of their crosses so the score remained 2 - 0 heading into the break.
The second half began with fairly even play, both teams testing the other's defence but not able to find the back of the net. The ball remained mostly in the middle third as the Cascades and the Vikes warred for possession. Fraser Valley found their rhythm and managed to push the Vikes back into their own end for a significant portion of the second half. The Vikes did their part to seal the game 2-0 and earn a spot in the final, where they will face the CIS defending champs, the UBC Thunderbirds.
SCORING SUMMARY:
UVIC: 2 - 0 : 2
UFV: 0 - 0 : 0
GOAL SCORERS:
UVIC:
Gavin Barrett (5'),
Cam Hundal (22')
UFV: N/A
FULL SCHEDULE:
Saturday March 23
10 a.m. - WOMEN - UBC (1) vs. Trinity Western (2)
12 p.m. - MEN - UBC (4) vs. Trinity Western (0)
2 p.m. - WOMEN - UVic (3) vs. Alberta (0)
4 p.m. - MEN - UVic (2) vs. Fraser Valley (0)
Sunday March 24
10 a.m. - WOMEN - Third-Place Game (UBC vs. Alberta)
12 p.m. - MEN - Third Place Game (Trinity Western vs. Fraser Valley)
2 p.m. - WOMEN - Final (Victoria vs. Trinity Western)
4 p.m. - MEN - Final (Victoria vs. UBC)
