VICTORIA (CIS) – The University of Victoria Vikes women's field hockey team will have an opportunity to re-create the magic that happened on the very same Victoria turf in 2008 after a 1-1 tie with Guelph booked them in to the championship final set for tomorrow. Going through on goal differential the Vikes will look to keep the McCrae Cup in Victoria for their 12^th banner, last won seven years ago.
 
The Vikes trailed by one the majority of the game until second-year forward Stefanie Langkammer smashed home a penalty corner rebound to tie it up. Vikes defenders Rosie Beale, Annie and Kristina Walters-Shumka had a stand-out performance, closing all the lanes for the Gryphons.
 
"The pressure we had up front, the team work in the middle and the interceptions in the backfield were all marvelous to watch," said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft after the win. "I hope the girls recognize that it's not really about winning the championship (tomorrow). They will have life long memories with this group. It will be icing on the cake if they end up winning the gold."
 
Guelph scored early on a penalty corner goal from Moon Weijens, her second of the tournament, while the leadership of fifth-year midfielder Erin Houle was present more than ever.
 
"We played our hearts out and I am so proud of our girls," said Guelph head coach Michelle Turley. "We gave it everything we had. It's hard going against a team with home team advantage. There were tonnes of fans and we did a good job of blocking out the crowd. (Houle)'s leadership on the field was unbelievable and it kept our whole team going."
 
The Gryphons came out charging in the opening minutes as Daniela Jelec drew the first penalty corner in the fourth minute of play. Under soggy conditions Guelph elected for the short-side option straight out to Weijens. The Netherlands native had a quick sweep shot that ricocheted through traffic for the 1-0 lead.
 
Two minutes later veteran Vike Kathleen Leahy drove the Guelph circle down the left side and earned the first penalty corner for Victoria. The pull out came to Leahy but her shot went too high and was called down for danger.
 
Ciara Condon nearly doubled Guelph's lead in the 10^th minute after rifling a chip shot into the top right corner but the ball was just outside of the circle as the shot was taken.
 
The Gryphons had another penalty corner chance in the 15^th minute but Vikes keeper Piva stood tall to clear the lay-off left option, again from Weijens.
 
Vike Lizzie Yates sprung second-year team mate Elspeth McGillivray in the 30^th minute and the Victoria native did well to draw another penalty corner for the home side. Leahy's shot from the top was booked for a McGillivray deflection but it caught her feet instead leaving the Vikes off the board.
 
The Gryphons had another strong attack as Jelec's through ball beat the entire Vikes line and Allison Chute collected it on the baseline. The 2015 CIS All-Canadian drove the right baseline forcing a sliding Piva off her line. The Vikes back line did well to recover but still trailed 1-0 entering half time.
 
Possession largely favoured the Vikes in the second half despite no clear scoring chances emerging for over 20 minutes. Guelph sat on their 1-0 lead and played a half-court press on the Victoria squad, giving the Vikes lots of room to advance but little room as they neared the circle.
 
Finally the home team found their equalizer on a penalty corner earned from Vikes forward Amanda Kurianowicz. Yates struck the initial shot that resulted in a do-over as the ball hit Houle's feet in the circle. Victoria stuck with the same option and Houle again got a stick on Yates' blast but advantage played on and a loose ball popped kindly for a waiting Langkammer. The Duncan, B.C. one-time swept the ball past Guelph keeper Morgan Kelley to tie the game 1-1.
 
Guelph had some opportune time to get back on the board as both Leahy and Kurianowicz served overlapping green-card penalties but the Gryphons were unable to threaten the Victoria end zone. The resulting 1-1 tie favours the Vikes into the championship game based on goal differential.
 
"We have to play our game with whoever it is we play tomorrow," added Beecroft about tomorrow's opponent still being unknown. "I know both teams are very good. We will need to pressure those key distributers and stick to our game plan."
 
Victoria will challenge for their 12^th McCrae Cup at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 8. A win for either UBC or Toronto in the next game will put that team through to the final, while another tie will bring it back to goal differential.
 
Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/fh/index

SCORING SUMMARY (official stats: CLICK HERE)
VIC: 0-1: 1
GUE: 1-0: 1 

First half
GUE Moon Weijens (2), 4^th minute
 
Second half
VIC Stefanie Langkammer (1), 61^st minute
 
Goaltenders
VIC: Larissa Piva (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-1-1)
GUE: Morgan Kelley (T, 70:00, 1 GA, 1-1-1)
 
Players of the game
VIC: Rosie Beale (Victoria, B.C.)
GUE: Rebecca Plouffe (Oakville, Ont.)
 
PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING
 
1. Victoria (Canada West champions: 7-0-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
2. Toronto (OUA champions: 11-1-0 regular season / 2-0 conference playoffs)
3. UBC (Canada West runners-up: 4-3-1 regular season / no playoffs in CW)
4. Guelph (OUA silver medallists: 11-1-0 regular season / 1-1 conference playoffs)
 
STANDINGS, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times Pacific Time)
 
Round-robin standings
 
                        GP       W        L          T          GF       GA       PTS
1. Victoria        3          1          1          1          6          4          4
2. Guelph         3          1          1          1          4          4          4
3. Toronto        2          1          1          0          3          1          3
4. UBC             2          1          1          0          3          3          3
 
NOTE: 3 points for a win and 1 point for a tie.
 
Thursday, Nov. 5
16:00 Game 1: Guelph 2, UBC 1
18:30 Game 2: Victoria 4, Toronto 1

Friday, Nov. 6
16:00 Game 3: UBC 2, Victoria 1
18:30 Game 4: Toronto 2, Guelph 1

Saturday, Nov. 7
12:30 Game 5: Victoria 1,
15:00 Game 6: UBC vs. Toronto (CIS-SIC.tv)

Sunday, Nov. 8
12:30 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv)
 
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
 
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
 
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-CIS-
 
For further information, please contact:
 
Ali Lee
Communications Officer
University of Victoria Vikes
Off: 250-721-8410
Cell: 250-418-5633
vicvikes@uvic.ca
 
Michel Bélanger        
Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Off: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca