VICTORIA – Last season the University of Victoria Vikes women's field hockey team ended a 10-year drought of hoisting the prestigious McCrae Cup as national champions and they did so in style. The Vikes not only ended a seven-straight run for the UBC Thunderbirds but they also claimed the Canada West title and had Vikes players named Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Tournament MVP at the national level.

From the 2018 championship-winning roster five seniors, all of who played their five years with the Vikes, have graduated, while U SPORTS and Canada West Rookie of the Year Anso Hannes has returned to Germany after her one-year exchange. That leaves a big gap for the 2019 Vikes who have no fifth-year players.
 

One thing that does remain consistent is head coach Lynne Beecroft, who enters her 36^th season leading the program. An Olympian in the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Beecroft was a part of the last Canadian dynasty to have a medal-worthy presence on the international stage. Her experience as a player led her to lead the Vikes program and she hasn't looked back since. Assistant coach Krista Thompson has been by her side for the past 23 seasons and continues to bring new ideas to the fold after spending lots of her time with Canada's Next GEN program at tournaments and camps both domestically and internationally.

Beecroft and Thompson took the Vikes to Boston this past August for a pre-season tour and the team went undefeated against Dartmouth (4-1), Yale (2-1) and Harvard (1-1).

"We have a very young team so it was important for us to do something that would help our athletes get to know each other – on and off the field," described Beecroft. "Over the eight days our athletes did almost everything together. They ate together. They did team building exercises, workouts, training, did sightseeing and we had a skit night plus our three games. Everyone got along extremely well off the field, and it translated to our success on to the field."
 

Despite the lack of age experience, the Vikes have no shortage of on-field talent and leadership as they return third-year defender and 2018 U SPORTS and Canada West Player of the Year Anna Mollenhauer. The St. Michael's University School graduate had a busy summer with training in Belgium and competing in the Pan American Games for Canada's senior national team. Mollenhauer was a part of the 16-member team that claimed Canada's first Pan Am silver medal since 1991 and she could be stolen away to compete with Canada again in the first week of November when Canada plays against Ireland in a best-of-two to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

For now, Mollenhauer is with the Vikes and is set to help defend the Vikes' 12^th championship title. Joining her in the back field are second year defender Judy Cristante and fourth year Emily Wong. With Mollenhauer's outletting, Cristante's defensive smarts and Wong's intercepting instincts, returning goalkeeper Robin Fleming will have full confidence around her circle.
 

In the midfield line second year's Cara Butler and Stefanie Sajko will be charged with most of the playmaking, while the crafty hands of first year Melanie Robertson and the speed of third year Georgia Booker will make for a dynamic line that can give the Vikes the transition they need up and down the field.

Up front the Vikes' most lethal attacker is second year Erin Dawson whose speed and tenacity always put the Vikes on the forefront in their pressure. A new addition to the forward line is Anni Kleinschmidt, an exchange student from Germany, and her elimination skills in tight have proven to add the exact composure in the attacking circle that the Vikes were missing.
 

The Vikes will also welcome five local first years, most of who competed for Team BC this past summer. Three of those players - Emily Jackson, Janet Dawson and Robertson - won gold at the Under 18 National Championship with a provincial team made up of all Vancouver Island players and coached by Thompson. Also in the mix as a rookie this year are Oak Bay's Sophia Berk, daughter of field hockey Olympian and Vikes Hall of Fame inductee Milena Gaiga, and Duncan's Jenna Berard. Kleinschmidt rounds out the rookie class. 

"Our island rookies have been very involved with the regional and provincial programs and many participated in our Rising Stars program," adds Beecroft. "Now they are members of the Vikes women's field hockey program.  The one common denominator with all of these programs is Krista Thompson.  Krista has coached many of these girls since they were 10 years old. They are comfortable with her coaching style, eager to continue to learn, and excited to contribute to the success of the current Vikes team."  Their transition into the Vikes women's field hockey program has been seamless."

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More. More. Gold!!!!!!!

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The team's opening two weekends of Canada West play will be on the road as they visit Calgary (Sept. 21-22) and UBC (Sept. 28-29) before returning home to host the Dinos (Oct. 19-20) and Thunderbirds (Oct. 26-27). Should the Vikes be victorious as Canada West Champions they will host the U SPORTS Best-of-Three National Championship from Nov. 1-3.

Looking across the water, the Vikes know their biggest battle will be with their perennial rivals, UBC. The Thunderbirds return junior national program standouts Sara Goodman and Hannah Eborall, on defence, Thora Rae and Jordyn Faiczak in midfield and Margaret Pham up front. The T-Birds, however, have graduated standout keeper Rowan Harris.

"Our athletes know that there are only two teams that vie for a National Field Hockey Championship," stated Beecroft. "They also know that UBC has many national team athletes on their roster, who have played throughout the summer.  Having said that, we believe that if they give their best effort, work together as a team, and play with heart over the course of the eight games, anything is possible."