If that isn鈥檛 enough, up next for the Vikes in their desperate bid to stay in contact for a playoff berth, is a home-and-home set against the U Sports national No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (6-2-1) today at 5:30 p.m. at Centennial Stadium and Saturday in Vancouver.
Freshman and Reynolds Secondary Roadrunners-product Maxwell Branyik-Gil, the Vikes鈥� second goalkeeper but who did not make the trip to Saskatoon, will start today for the Vikes with Lally still out. Andrew Flello, also a rookie out of Reynolds, will dress as backup.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tough season on our players,鈥� said Bruce Wilson, in his 30th year of coaching the Vikes.
鈥淚 hasn鈥檛 gone as well as we had hoped it would.鈥�
Wilson estimates it will take winning four of the six remaining gamest to grab a playoff berth in the Pacific Division of the sa国际传媒 West Conference.
Meanwhile, the UVic women鈥檚 soccer team is having quite the opposite season and is No. 6 in the U Sports national rankings and on a six-game winning streak. The Vikes are in Vancouver on Friday to take on the national No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds. Both teams are 7-1-1.
鈥淲e have played well 鈥� defended well and looked to attack quickly off the counter 鈥� but we can鈥檛 get carried away with ourselves because the second half of our schedule features some very tough opponents, beginning with our old friends UBC,鈥� said Vikes coach Tracy David.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge game for first place in the Pacific Division.鈥�
VIKES NOTES: The UVic men鈥檚 basketball team moves on from going 1-2 in last week鈥檚 Guy Vetrie tournament at CARSA gym by continuing the preseason tonight at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Secondary gymnasium against the Bishop鈥檚 University Gaiters from Lennoxville, Que. It鈥檚 part of a push to expose the team to more Island high schoolers and follows a Vikes intra-squad game held recently in the Parkland Secondary gym . . . The U Sports No. 4-ranked UVic women鈥檚 rugby team is off to a 3-0 start, thanks in part to the play of third-year centre Madison Aberg, who was named U Sports women鈥檚 athlete of the week for her five tries in the 59-20 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Aberg, a social sciences major, leads sa国际传媒 West with 50 points over three games.
