Calgary, AB – The University of Victoria women's soccer team delivered the biggest win in several years on Oct. 30, upsetting the Prairie Division champion Calgary Dinos 2-1 in the Canada West quarterfinal at McMahon Stadium. Entering the postseason as the fourth seed from the Pacific Division, the Vikes knocked off the conference's top Prairie seed to advance to the Canada West semifinal.
The Vikes weathered early pressure and stayed level through the opening 45 minutes.
- Calgary generated the bulk of the early chances, testing goalkeeper Stefanie Mocnik on multiple occasions.
- The Vikes remained organized defensively and relied on several key saves from Mocnik to keep the match scoreless through the opening half.
- Despite facing sustained pressure from the hosts, Victoria entered halftime deadlocked with the Prairie Division champions.
The match came to life in the second half.
- Calgary nearly opened the scoring in the 55th minute when a header crashed off the crossbar.
- Moments later, the Vikes capitalized. Hannah Harper found the back of the net in the 56th minute after a setup from Brianne McLeish to give Victoria a 1-0 lead.
- The Dinos responded in the 62nd minute when an own goal levelled the match at 1-1.
- Rather than allowing the equalizer to shift momentum, the Vikes remained composed and continued searching for a winner.
Victoria delivered the decisive blow late.
- The breakthrough came in the 85th minute when Adrianna Hilton directed an effort toward goal that Calgary goalkeeper Cheridan Johnson was unable to keep out.
- The Vikes successfully defended their lead through the final minutes as Calgary pushed for another equalizer.
The Vikes continue their Canada West playoff run on Nov. 1 in the Canada West semifinal. Victoria will face the winner of Friday night's quarterfinal matchup between the Saskatchewan Huskies and Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
