Tale of the Weekend
VICTORIA—With their season officially half over, the Vikes men's soccer team knows that their time to strike is now if they want to push themselves back into the playoff race. It won't be easy for the Vikes this weekend, they travel to the Lower Mainland where they will play the Trinity Western Spartans and the Fraser Valley Cascades September 30 and October 1.
The Vikes played both of these teams earlier this season in Victoria.
While the Vikes lost to the Spartans earlier in the year, UVic improved throughout the match and fell by just one goal to a tough Spartans squad.
The Vikes beat Fraser Valley to earn their first win of the season the last time these teams matched up. The Vikes scored the late winner with just minutes left in the game.
Last Time Out
The Vikes came away from their Albertan road swing with one win and one loss last weekend. They stole the win against the Lethbridge Pronghorns with an injury time winner scored by
Keevan Webb. The Calgary Dinos proved too much for the Vikes to handle however, and Victoria dropped that game 2-1.
Trinity also won one and lost one on the road last weekend. They dropped their game against the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 before rebounding to defeat the Winnipeg Wesmen 2-1. That loss was a rare slip for the Spartans this season, who are first in the Pacific Division and have just two losses from ten games this year.
The Cascades had a tough time on their road trip last weekend. They fell to the Wesmen and the Huskies by scores of 2-0 and 1-0 respectively. The Cascades are currently in a tie for fourth place in the Pacific Division, just one point ahead of the Vikes.
By the Numbers
6: The number of goals Elijah Adekugbe has scored for Trinity this season, good enough for third in Canada West.
49: Noah Pawlowski has been a brick wall in the Vikes net all season long and his high number of saves on the season proves it.
2: Both goal scorers (
Michael Baart, Samuel Prette) remain on the Vikes from the team that beat Trinity Western in the Canada West semi-finals last season.
Coach's Take
Bruce Wilson, Vikes head coach
"They are both very good this year, Trinity in particular. It is going to be difficult because we've come down with a couple more injuries that we aren't sure about yet. We may have to play a few players that haven't played at all. It's going to be difficult for sure."
"We've been close in pretty much every game. We are close and these two teams are the teams that we are battling to get into the playoff picture. Then we have UBC after that, so nothing will get easier for us."
Game Info
Friday, Sep. 30 – 7:15 p.m. – at Trinity Western Spartans
Watch live on canadawest.tv
Trinity Western Spartans (7-2-1)
CIS National Ranking: 5
Canada West Standings: 2 (Pacific 1)
Last Week: 1-1-0
Streak: W 1
Last Canada West Title: 2008
Last CIS Title: N/A
Saturday, Oct. 1 – 8:00 p.m. – at Fraser Valley Cascades
Watch live on canadawest.tv
Fraser Valley Cascades (3-4-1)
CIS National Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standings: t-8 (Pacific t-4)
Last Week: 0-2-0
Streak: L 3
Last Canada West Title: N/A
Last CIS Title: N/A
