Vikes blank Tigers
The Victoria Vikes beat the Tigers 3-0 in game two of the round robin.
Friday's weather could not have been more different than the crisp sunny Thursday we were treated to yesterday. There was howling wind and sheet rain at the field site at UPEI today as the University Championship played on.
UVic and Dalhousie University kicked things off at Noon, battling the tough conditions all game long. The format of the tournament has teams completing pool play and heading straight into medal matches. After both drawing yesterday in their respective matches, there was added pressure to get in the win column today.
UVic came out as the stronger of the two sides, applying early pressure and rarely giving up that advantage. Still the Tigers held fast until the end of the first half, when UVic's Josie Dunham banged in the Vikes' first goal of the tournament. It was just what they needed for momentum, as they added another in the opening breaths of the second half off the stick of Jaden Dawson. Katie Bentley capped off the scoring tucking in a field goal in the final few minutes of the game after great work by Julia Boraston surging forward.
UVic closed out the game with a 3-0 win to take top spot in the group heading into the weekend. They finish out group-stage with a game against UPEI tomorrow and Dalhousie finishes the round robin against York on Saturday.
The UVic Vikes play most of their Can-West matches on a water-based turf so getting used to the bounces and flow of the rubber-based field turf here at UPEI can be an adjustment. Vikes captain Libby Hogg said the team is fine tuning their game play and adapting to the conditions. Overall, she's pleased with the progress so far and looking forward to the upcoming matches.
"We're getting used to the turf and figuring it out. Each game, we're building and it's looking good. We are playing to our strengths, playing our game, moving the ball quick and finding the open space," she said, adding that moving forward, the team is taking it one game at a time and enjoying their last few matches of the season together.
The Tigers return to the field on Saturday to battle the York Lions.