VICTOIRA – The University of Victoria Vikes soccer programs are headed east to take on a pair of Saskatchewan teams in the first round of the Canada West playoffs.

Starting tomorrow afternoon, the women are in Edmonton to battle the University of Regina Cougars at Clarke Stadium for the play-in game. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Mountain Time). Should the Vikes conquer the Cougars, they will advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday, Oct. 27, and tangle with the host Grant MacEwan University Griffins.

On the men's side, the Vikes are off to Saskatoon to take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday. The soccer game will follow the conclusion of the Huskies football game and start around 7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Luckily, for both Vike outfits, they are taking on a familiar face in the first round.

Two fifth years on the women's team had a miscommunication in their own end and coughed up an early goal on Sept. 21 when the Cougars were in town. The Vikes forced a draw in the 71^st minute when after freshly subbing into the game, Natalie Cavallin headed home her only goal of the season.

"I feel much more comfortable having played Regina this year instead of if we had to go into the game and only watch them on video," said Vikes women's head coach Tracy David. "That being said, we played them over one month ago. This is a new season and they will be a different team than the one we saw."

Since the Cougars and Vikes locked horns last, the Vikes have been on a roll. They finished the season on a 5-1-2 run which included impressive wins against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on the road and they became the first team this season to knock of the University of Calgary Dinos in the final week of the season. On the flip side, despite carrying leads over the Griffins and University of Alberta Pandas in the final week, the Cougars stumbled across the finish line at 2-1-5.

"Regina is a good, tough team. They defend with a lot of bodies and are strong on the counter attack. We will be mindful of that as we prepare," said David. "But anything can happen in a do-or-die game."

The one-game playoff scenario is nothing new for many of the Vikes.

Last year, the Vikes entered the postseason after defeating the eventual national champion Trinity Western University Spartans in the regular season finale, only to get blanked 2-0 by the lower-ranked Huskies during the play-in game.

It'll be a similar scenario once again, as the Vikes enter with a regular season record of 8-3-3, three points better than the 6-2-6 Cougars.

"Playoffs are an entirely new season. One miscue could end your whole season," said David. "They are going to fight hard for this and we need our veterans to step up and we need to bring the fight just as hard."

Unfortunately, the Vikes have been dealing with a shorter deck all season, as they have battled through major injuries.

The Vikes will still be without Georgia Bignold. Two weeks ago, Abby Mackenzie tore her ACL. She was filling in for the injured Dari Cote, who is also doubtful for this weekend. There is no update on Trinity Kettyls, but David is keeping her options open if the third-year local product is able to suit up.

If everything goes to plan and the Vikes make it past the Cougars, they will have the host Griffins waiting in the wings for them on Sunday. The Griffins and Vikes didn't play each other this season.

"At this point in the season, we have to take it one game at a time. If we start looking ahead to the next game, there will be no next game," said David.

As for the men, they only have one game to worry about this weekend in order to punch their ticket to the Canada West Final Four.

Splitting the final regular season weekend bumped them down to the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division with an 8-6-1 record and forced them to travel for the crossover quarterfinals.

The Vikes thought they had sewn up three points back on Sept. 15 when a pair from Ian Whibley put the Vikes up 2-1 with 30 minutes remaining agianst the Huskies. Mason Ogoke spoiled the party for the Vikes in the 89^th minute when his first of the season forced the draw.

"It was a little disappointing not to get those three points. That would have been enough for us to host this year instead of traveling," said Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson.

When the Vikes hit the road, it often means they have to play on artificial turf instead of the natural grass they are accustomed to.

On artificial turf this season, the Vikes went 1-3-0 as opposed to 7-3-1 on real grass.

Having home field will be an advantage, as the Huskies play on a narrower field. Entering the playoffs as the hottest team in the conference will also be a boost.

The Huskies ripped off six consecutive wins to close out the season and finish 7-3-4. It's quite the turn around considering they were 1-2-3 when they visited Victoria in September.

"They have a couple players playing well for them right now. Nikolas Baikas is a guy we are going to have to watch out for," said Wilson.

The Huskies didn't have a player finish in the top 10 in league scoring, but saw 14 different players contribute offensively.

The Vikes are the complete opposite. Isaac Koch led the Canada West in assists (8) and points (17), and finished tied for second with nine goals. Behind him, Whibley was the next biggest offensive threat with six goals and four assists.

Wilson will need to find a way to get his two big guns free against the defence that allowed the third-fewest goals in the conference this season.

"This is a different team than the one we saw one month ago, but we will prepare, watch some film and be ready to go," said Wilson.

Both Vikes programs will have their work cut out for them this weekend as they try and advance to the Canada West Final Four the following week.

All playoff games are available on www.canadawest.tv, presented by CO-OP.