Shootout misery sees UVic women’s soccer finish fourth
The UVic women’s soccer team suffered a devastating shootout loss to the Trinity Western Spartans in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Nationals semi-finals on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Langley.
The Vikes’ pursuit of CIS gold began with a 4-0 routing of the Dalhousie Tigers in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Nov. 6. Kendra Flock and Janelle Smith each scored in the first half, while Moira Hood and Leigh Quinlan struck for two more in the second half.
The semi-final game was a rousing rematch of the Canada West final the previous week in Victoria, where the Vikes clinched the division through penalty kicks after a scoreless tie and two overtimes.
Over 700 enthusiastic fans crowded the soggy sideline of the Spartans’ home field to support both teams.
The teams played as hard as they had in the Canada West final, and neither side was able to gain an advantage despite numerous opportunities. The Spartans took 17 shots in the game as the Vikes attacked with 19.
After playing to yet another scoreless tie through 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of overtime, the top two teams in the Canada West conference again faced off with penalty kicks to decide the winner. After five shooters, the game was still tied, and the shooters went one-off sudden death kicks to decide the game. Each side would end up sending eight shooters to the penalty spot.
For the third time in a week, Vikes goalkeeper Stephanie Parker made two stops in the shootout, along with eight during the game. History repeated itself, however, as the Vikes lost their second consecutive CIS nationals semi-final shootout. The game-winning penalty kick was put in by the Spartans’ eighth shooter, Rebecca Ferguson.
The Spartans went on to win the national title with a 1-0 win over the Brock Badgers on Sunday, Nov. 9.
The Vikes were unable to rally after their defeat as they competed for third place on the same day against the Montreal Carabins. Montreal scored two goals in the opening five minutes and were able to shut out the Vikes for the rest of the game to take the bronze medal.
The Vikes finished the season with a 13-5-1 record.
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