VICTORIA – Filling in for her injured teammates, Nikki Virk made the most of her opportunity in her Canada West debut.

Virk netted the only marker in the University of Victoria Vikes 1-0 win over the visiting University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night at Centennial Stadium.

Playing in front of a jazzed up crowd at ThunderFest, the freshman from Surrey, B.C., got the Vikes going early with a chance in close, but her shot got gobbled up by Cascade keeper Joven Sandhu for one of her six first half saves.

Later in the 76^th minute, Virk got the ball in space in the Cascade zone and launched a shot from 25 yards out and it sailed into the top half of the net.

"Oh my god. My first Vikes goal feels unreal! Playing against girls that are so much older than me, I obviously didn't expect to score. But Tracy (David) gave me a chance to play and I made the most of it," said Virk. "I wasn't thinking about shooting it right away, but something just felt right so I let it fly."



"It was a great shot. I can't say enough about Nikki. I think she's a fabulous player and you saw why tonight," said Vikes Head Coach David. "I know there's more to come from her. I'm sure of that."

The Cascades best opportunity in the first half was punched out of play by Vikes fifth-year goalkeeper Puck Louwes. The Cascades leading scorer from last season, Brittney Zacharuk, launched a shot just before the first half expired, but Louwes leaped and deflected it out of play.

"Puck saved us a ton tonight. She was a rock back there for us," said Virk.

The Vikes (1-0-0) are back in action tomorrow evening when they host the defending Canada West champions, the Trinity Western Spartans. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. at Centennial Stadium.

The Cascades (0-1-0) are on the road tomorrow to battle the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (0-0-0).