UVic Vikes player Emily Wong moves the ball past UBC Thunderbirds player Hannah Haughn during Canada West play at UVic, Oct. 9.

UVic Vikes player Emily Wong moves the ball past UBC Thunderbirds player Hannah Haughn during Canada West play at UVic, Oct. 9.

Vikes this weekend: Women in crucial pair of field hockey games

Vikes women’s field hockey vs. Calgary, Saturday and Sunday

The UVic Vikes have a chance to book their ticket to the CIS national women’s field hockey championships as they host the Calgary Dinos at UVic this weekend.

Both games start at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the UVic water-based turf. The Vikes are just one win away from clinching second place, and thereby locking up a spot at nationals. So far this season the Vikes have won both matches over Calgary, 5-0 and 2-1.

Last week the Vikes dropped two matches to the UBC Thunderbirds, 1-0 and 2-1, as the latter won their

26th Canada West title. Amanda Kurianowicz scored the Vikes’ lone goal of the weekend.

Vikes host top two women’s soccer teams

The Vikes women’s soccer team host to two of the top teams in their conference with the Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday night and the Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday night.

Both games start at 5 p.m.

Saturday is the final home game for graduating Vikes Meaghan Storie, Samantha Lee, Lindsay Machin, Sarah Douglas and Mia Gunter.

“We are going to have to have all cylinders firing at the same time this weekend for sure,” said Vikes head coach Tracy David. “This is an opportunity for us to move up in the standings.

Last week the Vikes dropped a 2-0 loss to the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver as UBC jumped from fifth to fourth ahead of the fifth-place Vikes.

The Vikes men’s soccer team drew scoreless and lost 3-2 in a pair of matches against UBC last week. At 3-8-1 the Vikes are unlikely to make the playoffs but it’s still possible. They play a pair of games against UNBC in Prince George this weekend and then host Thompsons Rivers and UBC-Okanagan on Oct. 21 and 22, respectively.

Rugby women roll with She Shoots, She Scores

The UVic Vikes are kicking off a campaign celebrating women in sport in advance of the upcoming CIS Women’s Rugby Championship at UVic’s Wallace Field and Centennial Stadium, Nov. 3 to 6.

The campaign, She Shoots She Scores, aims to highlight women in sport through athlete stories and community events and is built around the rugby championship as well as the CIS Women’s Basketball Championship in March.

It’s ideal timing for the Vikes, who emerged as Canada West women’s champions last year and are ready to compete with the top eight CIS rugby teams.

The Vikes host the Lethbridge Pronghorns at Wallace Field on Sunday. The Vikes defeated the Pronghorns, 42-17, on Sept. 30. It was a big game as Madeleine Graham had four tries, and Jess Neilson added three converts and two penalty goals.

The Vikes men’s rugby team is in action this weekend against the Westshore Valhallians at the Valhalla’s new home of Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre. Kick off is Saturday, 2:45 p.m.

Men’s basketball team heads east, women at home

The UVic Vikes men’s team is in Ottawa for the House Laughton tourney this weekend while the women are at home to take on the Windsor Lancers Friday (Oct. 14).

Tip off for the Friday night women’s match between the Vikes vs. Lancers is 7 p.m. in the CARSA Performance Gym. “This game will be a good test for us, Windsor has won five championships in a row in their history,” said Vikes coach Dani Sinclair. “They are one of the teams touted to come out of Ontario and make it back here for nationals, so any time you have an opportunity to play a team like that it’s great.”

The Vikes men’s basketball team will get their first road tests of the pre-season when they head to Ottawa to play three games in the House Laughton Tournament.

Their first game is Friday night against the tournament host Carleton University. The Vikes will then play Saturday and Sunday night against the University of Western Ontario and Laval University, respectively. The Vikes last competed in the House Laughton tournament in 2013. They won their first two games before losing to the perennial powerhouse that is the Carleton Ravens.

 

 

 

 

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