With four games added to the regular-season schedule this year, bringing the total to 16, there is more time and opportunity to correct course.
Yet, there is still a sense of urgency building.
鈥淓veryone on our team realizes we are in a tough situation and we need to get points,鈥� said Wilson.
The first chance comes tonight at 7:15 against a team that has had the opposite start. The Fraser Valley Cascades are 2-0.
There should be a lively atmosphere with the annual home-opener student Thunderfest promotion, which has in the past attracted up to 3,000 fans to Centennial Stadium.
The Vikes are still looking to solve the issue of having lost to graduation Cam Hundal and Craig Gorman, two of the most prolific offensive threats in Vikes soccer history.
鈥淚t will be interesting to see what we do to score goals this season,鈥� said Wilson, heading into the 2016 campaign.
He鈥檚 still looking for that answer.
UVic has yet to score this season in surprising 1-0 and 4-0 road losses to lower-regarded UBC-Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University squads. Missing two penalty kicks in Kamloops against Thompson Rivers didn鈥檛 help. On defence, neither did giving up the winning goal at the death in Kelowna against UBC-O.
Wilson lamented the early-season absence of injured forward Isaac Koch, whose speed makes things happen on the pitch.
鈥淲e鈥檙e missing three starters to injury [Koch, Keevan Webb and Sam Prette] and that hurts us quite a bit,鈥� said Wilson.
鈥淭hat means first-year people have to start and learn the league very quickly.鈥�
That includes true freshman Jack Hill, a Grade 12 graduate out of Oak Bay High, who will be inserted into the Vikes back line this weekend.
The Vikes conclude their weekend home opening set with a game Saturday night at Centennial Stadium against the Trinity Western Spartans, who are off to a 4-0 start to earn a No. 8 ranking in the national CIS top-10 poll. Fraser Valley received an honourable mention.
鈥淭rinity Western and Fraser Valley are two very strong teams with veteran players who have been around awhile, while we lost five to graduation,鈥� noted Wilson.
In sa国际传媒 West women鈥檚 soccer, the Vikes鈥� gutsy scoreless opening draw last weekend against the defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds has earned UVic a spot in the CIS national ranking at No. 10. The result dropped UBC from top-ranked in the country to No. 2 this week behind Laval from Quebec.
While there鈥檚 a definite Valley vibe to the men鈥檚 weekend, it鈥檚 an all-Alberta matchup for the women as they meet the MacEwan Griffins from Edmonton tonight and the Mount Royal Cougars from Calgary on Saturday. Both games begin at 5 p.m. at Centennial Stadium. These are the season openers for both the Griffins and Cougars.
Tonight will be the first-ever meeting in women鈥檚 soccer between UVic and MacEwan, which entered sa国际传媒 West in 2012.
The Vikes will again be looking to ride the strong back-end play of Samantha Lee, Katie Carrothers, Lindsay Machin and goalkeeper Meaghan Storie, who together held the potent UBC attack at bay last weekend.
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