VANCOUVER - The No. 2-seeded University of Victoria Vikes men's soccer team took down the third-seeded Trinity Western Spartans, 2-1, at the Canada West Final Four semifinal at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium on Nov. 6. WIth the win the Vikes book their spot to the CIS national championship, hosted Nov. 12-15 at York University in Toronto, Ont.

BOX SCORE
 
It took a late goal from midfielder Sam Prette, but the Vikes have earned their place in the Canada West final, where they will face hosts UBC.

"It was a good win for us tonight," said fifth-year captain and recently named Canada West Player of the Year Cam Hundal after the game. "We were confident going in and playing a team we know and we have beaten before was a good thing but we had to get the job done on the night and we did just that. We are looking forward to playing in the final and it will be another good battle against UBC."
 
The opening half saw a solid defensive effort from both sides, but neither Trinity Western, nor Victoria could hold the other at bay entirely.
 
After a physical, tightly contested opening, Trinity Western was put at a disadvantage around 27 minutes into the contest, as defender Kalem Scott was awarded a red card.
 
Victoria drew first blood just ahead of the 30-minute mark, as recently-crowned Canada West Most Valuable Player Cam Hundal found second-year forward Michael Baart with a nifty pass that reached him well inside the Trinity Western 18-yard box. The 6-foot-2 Baart made no mistake, and his marker put the Vikes up 1-0.
 
The Spartans didn't waste time getting back on even footing, as just six minutes later, Trinity Western got a goal of their own, off of the head of fourth-year defender Taylor Johnson. After midfielder Vito Poletto delivered a beautiful corner kick, Johnson did well to find a soft spot in the defense and time his leap perfectly, deflecting the ball past Victoria keeper Noah Pawlowski.
 
The majority of the second half passed with the same caliber of play as the first – though both teams played well in transition, neither side could find any semblance of touch in the final third that would allow them to break the deadlock.
 
The best chance for the Spartans came in the 81st minute, as midfielder Matthew Roxburgh got in alone on Pawlowski from in close. The Vikes keeper came up huge, making a terrific stop while falling backwards, and keeping the game even up at 1-1.
 
Just two minutes later, Victoria's attack rewarded their goalkeeper's efforts. Prette, taking a feed in space down the left flank,  paused and took a step towards the middle of the field. Still 30 yards out, the midfielder unleashed a curling strike that bent just inside the right post, beating Trinity Western netminder Andrew Hicks.
 
The Spartans pressed hard to equalize in the closing minutes, but failed to beat Pawlowski, giving the Vikes the 2-1 decision.

"It's a huge accomplishment because it's our first championship appearance since my first year," added Hundal who was the 2011 CIS Championship MVP when the Vikes last appeared and won a championthip title at home. "It will be a new experience not playing at home and that's what we want to do. We want to play the best teams in the country and we've done well to get to this position and we have a strong squad to do so. We are really looking forward to competing at nationals."
 
The Vikes will face the T-Birds for conference supremacy tomorrow evening, as the Canada West final is slated for a 7:30 p.m. (PT) start. Both games will be held at Thunderbird Stadium and will be available for viewing live on canadawest.tv.