Coming off a 2-1 road loss to Fraser Valley, the University of Victoria Vikes men鈥檚 soccer team will attempt to right the ship in a pair of weekend home games at Centennial Stadium.
The 3-1-1 Vikes will entertain the UBC-Okanagan Heat (1-3) at 7:15 tonight before tackling the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (1-1) Saturday at the same time on the grass field.
鈥淲e are happy to be back at home again,鈥� said Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson. 鈥淏oth teams are very strong even though UBC-Okanagan鈥檚 record does not show it.鈥�
On the road last weekend, the Vikes struck for a 1-0 win against Trinity Western before falling behind 2-0 early to Fraser Valley and never fully recovering.
The Vikes still sit at the top of the Pacific Division table with 10 points, but have played two more games than the UBC T-Birds, who remain three points back of the Vikes. The UBC-O Heat have just three points to show for their efforts and the Wolfpack have played just two games, splitting the pair to sit with an identical three points.
UVic, which benefitted from fifth-year midfielder Dominic Colantonio鈥檚 late goal in the 1-0 win over Trinity Western a week ago, were struggling with a few nicks and bruises.
鈥淲e had a few injuries this past weekend but everyone is back and we will have a full roster to pick from,鈥� said Wilson. 鈥淚t is important for us to keep winning at home and to carry that momentum.鈥�
Meanwhile, head coach Tracy David鈥檚 women鈥檚 Vikes hope to continue their winning ways after collecting a pair of home victories last weekend with decisive 6-0 and 3-1 triumphs over winless UNBC and Alberta, respectively.
The 2-2-1 Vikes venture to Thompson Rivers to face the 2-3-1 Wolfpack on Saturday before continuing on to UBCO to take on the 1-2-3 Heat, both with 2 p.m. kick-offs.
鈥淭hese consecutive wins should give us some momentum going into the weekend,鈥� said David, who had five different scorers in the 6-0 win. 鈥淲e are now figuring out who we are as a team.
鈥淯BC-Okanagan and Thompson Rivers will be more comfortable at home,鈥� added David. 鈥淭here are no easy teams in this league, so we have to keep working hard as we continue into the season.鈥�
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