Victoria, B.C. – The University of Victoria women's rugby team capped off a perfect Canada West regular season in dominant fashion, shutting out provincial rival University of British Columbia, 34-0 to complete the season sweep and secure the No. 1 seed heading into the Canada West Championship.
The Vikes set the tone early with a dominant first half.
- Ivy Poetker opened the scoring in the 13th minute after receiving an offload from Emily Findlay on the brink of the try zone. Findlay did much of the damage in the buildup, bursting through the UBC defence near midfield before finding Poetker, who powered through the remaining defence for the try. Maggie MacKinnon converted to complete the seven-point play.
- Piper Walsh crossed just three minutes later to extend Victoria's advantage to 12-0.
- Krissy Scurfield added the Vikes' third try in the 21st minute as Victoria continued to control the match.
- Larah Wright crossed in the 30th minute before MacKinnon added a try of her own five minutes later. Maddy Grant converted to send Victoria into halftime with a commanding 29-0 advantage.
Victoria's defence slammed the door in the second half.
- Remee Brown added the final try of the afternoon in the 63rd minute, pushing Victoria's advantage to 34-0.
- After scoring five tries in the opening half, the Vikes controlled the remainder of the contest to secure the season sweep and top seed entering the postseason.
- The Vikes kept their provincial rivals off the scoreboard for the entire 80 minutes, completing the shutout to close out an undefeated regular season.
Notables
- The Vikes finished the Canada West regular season undefeated, securing the top seed entering the conference championship.
- Victoria completed the season sweep of provincial rival UBC, who were ranked number one in the Canada West preseason poll.
- The Vikes recorded a shutout, holding UBC scoreless over the full 80 minutes. This marks the first time since 2018 that the Vikes have blanked the Thunderbirds in a 15's game.
The Vikes will now turn their attention to the Canada West Championship, which Victoria will host next weekend with games on Oct. 22 and 25.
