Victoria, BC – The men's soccer, men's rugby, and women's soccer will hit the road for a weekend of road games.
 
Men's Soccer (2-2)
Friday, September 18 at 7:15 p.m. & Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m.
The Vikes will travel to the mainland to take on the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday and the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday.

 
Recap of Previous Games:

• The University of Victoria men's soccer team took down Thompson Rivers University 4-0 in their annual Thunderfest game.
• Victoria, energized by a capacity crowd, applied the pressure to start the game. Felipe Morales Moya and Takin Keshavarz led the push, peppering the WolfPack goalie from all around the box. Despite the waves of offence, the Vikes were unable to find the back of the net in the first half hour.
• Tensions began to rise as the physicality picked up. With both teams having met just two weeks ago, familiarity was playing a role.
• With the first half nearing an end, Mattheus Achadinha had a shot blocked by a WolfPack defender's hand in the box, resulting in a penalty for the Vikes.
• Jack Napier-Ganley stepped up in front of a ruckus crowd and buried the penalty to put the Vikes ahead 1-0 as the game headed for halftime.
• In the 63^rd minute, Evan Larson received a beautiful through ball from Felipe Morales Moya, which sprung a breakaway. Larson made no mistake and scored the Vikes' second goal of the game.
• With the crowd still buzzing, Connor Legge stepped up and launched a shot from beyond the 18-yard box. Legge's shot fooled the TRU goalkeeper, adding a third tally just ten minutes after Larson's.
• In the 88^th minute, Aiden Grew crossed a ball into an open Wesley Jones, who redirected the pass past the WolfPack keeper.
•  In the second game of the weekend, the Vikes dropped a 1-0 game to Trinity Western University.
• With the game still early, TWU was the first to capitalize on a scoring opportunity. In the 26^th minute, the Spartans broke the scoreless tie to leap in front 1-0.
• The Vikes were finding success in getting the ball into the box but were unable to find any serious threat. The game headed for halftime with TWU in front 1-0.
• With the pressure turned up, Victoria was on the front foot, carrying all the offensive momentum. The Vikes took a shot from outside the box, and it was blocked by the arm of a Spartan defender, resulting in a penalty shot. Connor Legge stepped up and delivered a quality shot. Unfortunately, the Spartans goalkeeper dove the right way and saved the attempt.
• Larry Stefanek made late-game adjustments to apply more offensive pressure in hopes of tying the match. TWU was able to fend off the last-game push and headed home with a 1-0 win.

 
Game Previews:

• The Vikes will have a chance to avenge their loss against TWU this past weekend. Before the loss, the Vikes were on a five-game winning streak against the Spartans.
• Against the Thunderbirds, the Vikes will look to snap a two-game skid.

 
Women's Soccer (0-0-2)
Friday, September 18 at 5 p.m. & Sunday, September 19 at 5 p.m.
The Vikes will travel to the mainland to take on the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday and the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday.
 
Recap of Previous Games:

• The Vikes opened their season with the annual Thunderfest game. This year's opponent was the TRU WolfPack, and the women's soccer team battled to a 0-0 draw.
• With nearly 5,000 fans on hand, neither side found much attacking rhythm in a slow opening 45 minutes. The chances were limited at both ends as the teams battled through a tightly contested midfield.
• The story of the first half was the defensive play preventing any sustained offensive pressure. The sides entered halftime scoreless, deadlocked at 0-0.

• The Vikes made a push in the last 30 minutes, but each quality shot sailed wide or over the net.
• In the dying seconds of the game, TRU found themselves with the best chance of the game, but the shot flew just over the crossbar, finalizing the scoreless game.
• In the second game of the weekend, the University of Victoria women's soccer team finished its weekend with a 2-2 draw against Trinity Western University.
• With both teams settling in, the Spartans found offensive success first. In the 9th minute, TWU broke through and made it a 1-0 game.
• Just before the half's end, the Vikes were awarded a corner. Adrianna Hilton delivered a beautiful ball that was headed on goal by Sophie Olcen. The Spartans' goalie was able to get her hands on the attempt, but Raina Hagel was on the doorstep to bury the rebound. The goal marked the Vikes' first of the season.
• Around the midway point of the second half, Scarlett McNeely was brought down in the Spartans' box, and the referee awarded a penalty for the foul. The penalty was stopped, but the assistant referee's flag went up as the goalkeeper left her line early. This infraction awarded the Vikes a retry. This attempt by Brianne McLeish was perfect, giving the Vikes their first 2-1 lead.
• In the 75th minute, the Spartans' offensive pressure paid off, tying the game at two apiece. Despite both teams making an effort to separate in the last few minutes, the game ended in a draw.

 
Game Previews:

• Victoria is 2-5-3 in their last 10 matchups with the Spartans, with the last two ending in draws.
• The Vikes have lost their last five to the Thunderbirds, they will travel to Vancouver with hopes of finding their first victory since 2023.

 
 
Men's Rugby (0-1)
Saturday, September 18 at 2 p.m.
The Vikes travel to Langley to take on the Trinity Western Spartans in a Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship qualifier.
 
Previous Game Recap:

• The Vikes' men's rugby team fell in the first leg of the Wightman Boot and season opener, 36-26, to the UBC Thunderbirds on Sep. 12.
• After UBC jumped out to an early 19-0 lead, the Vikes found their footing late in the first half. Ronin Smith sparked the attack with a strong run down the right side, helping set up Reece Thompson for Victoria's opening try. The Vikes continued to battle and added another score in first-half stoppage time to close the gap to 26-14 heading into the break.
• The Vikes carried that momentum into the second half and put the Thunderbirds under significant pressure. Just eight minutes after halftime, Michael Oughtred delivered a well-timed pass to Alex Gamage, who broke through the UBC defence and raced in for a try.
• Moments later, relentless pressure on the try line paid off when Muiredach Casey pounced on a loose ball and powered over for another score. The successful conversion tied the match at 26-26 with 20 minutes remaining.
• With momentum firmly on their side, the Vikes continued to push, but UBC reclaimed the lead in the 65th minute through a driving maul try. Victoria pressed for another response in the closing stages, but a late penalty goal by the T-Birds sealed the 36-26 final.

 
Game Preview:

• The Vikes will look to remain perfect as they are 4-0 in this matchup as the away team. As a program, this is a matchup that is favourable for the Vikes, carrying a record of 9-2 overall.

 
Catch the games on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.