KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The University of Victoria Vikes were dismantled by four unanswered goals from the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, ultimately losing 4-2 on Oct. 18 at Hillside Stadium in Canada West play. The Vikes fall to 4-3-3 on the year while the WolfPack improves to 2-6-2.
A Craig Gorman penalty kick opened the scoring for the Vikes, but a pair of goals from Mitchell Popadynetz and singles from Ryan Glanville and Finlay McPhie did the damage for the WolfPack. Gorman added another from the spot in the 89th minute to no avail for the Vikes.
WolfPack goalkeeper Travis Froehlich made 10 saves in the game compared to three for Vikes' goalkeeper Noah Pawlowski. Each team had 17 shots in the contest.
The WolfPack and Vikes started even but Thompson Rivers began to take over offensively. Popadynetz set the stage early when he broke down the left side and rung it off the far post.
Victoria opened the scoring on a penalty kick in the 26th minute. Stef Shaw of the WolfPack brought down second-year Vike Michael Baart in the box. That resulted in Gorman stepping up and taking the shot, beating Froehlich.
The WolfPack tied it up in the 32nd minute when Ryan Glanville scored on a great individual effort. He turned at the top of the box and with three Victoria defenders draped around him, broke through and buried it for his seventh goal of the year. Shaw drew the assist.
Just before the half ended, in the 42nd minute, Glanville again drove towards the Victoria goal. He was hauled down and the WolfPack was awarded a penalty kick. It was Popadynetz who took the shot, got his own rebound and made no mistake. His second goal of the campaign made it 2-1
"I thought Kamloops played pretty well today," said Vikes men's soccer head coach Bruce Wilson. "The first time we played them they were strong as well. I thought they played well today and in some parts of our game we did not."
Wilson made a number of changes in the second half to his lineup with the Vikes behind 2-1.
"You play two games in a row, you have to use your bench," added Wilson. "Playing 90 minutes two days in a row is very demanding and difficult. I hope we were able to save some people for next week. They are very big in terms of where we go in playoffs."
In that second half, the WolfPack made it 3-1 in the 54th minute. Logan Zimmerman flicked the ball ahead to Popadynetz who scored his second of the afternoon.
In the 84th minute, Popadynetz took a free-kick that found the head of McPhie. He scored from a sharp angle to give the WolfPack a 4-1 lead.
Victoria added another goal in the 89th minute on a penalty kick . WolfPack fifth year Braeden Burrows pulled down Vikes midfielder Tarnvir Bhandal. Gorman took the kick and beat Froehlich.
The WolfPack close out the regular season next weekend, Oct. 24-25, at Hillside as they meet up with the UNBC Timberwolves. The Vikes host Trinity Western on Oct. 23 and Fraser Valley on Oct. 24. All matches can be seen live on canadawest.tv.
