The Martlet

The Vikes men’s soccer team comfortably beat the Saskatchewan Huskies of 4-0, Sunday, Oct. 4, at Centennial Stadium.

The Vikes spread the offence around, getting four goals from four different players.

Fourth-year midfielder Corey Sanford opened the scoring at the 25-minute mark with a sublime solo effort as he darted down the left wing before beating his defender to the inside and calmly slotting the ball just inside the far post.

The Vikes added to their lead two minutes before halftime with a powerful header from Daniel LePage. LePage found the top corner of the net after he was set up beautifully by Sanford, who was all over the pitch. Sanford drove a ball in from the right flank and LePage did well to finish with his head from 10 yards out.

The Vikes began to pull away midway through the second half, as substitute David Adams chipped a ball to the back post from the right corner of the 18-yard box, finding substitute striker Gavin Barret who headed the ball past the helpless Saskatchewan keeper.

The substitutes got in on more of the scoring, as first-year winger Andrew Ravenhill rounded off a beautifully constructed goal with a low strike which inched just inside the right post off a pass from fourth-year midfielder Miguel Romeo.

While the Huskies demonstrated that they were a formidable opponent at times throughout the match, any attempt at a goal they made was thwarted by the strong play of Vikes’ goalkeeper Daniel Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick earned his second clean sheet of the season, dominating the territory around his net. At times, Kilpatrick was forced into making a few difficult saves, but for the most part he will be thankful for the work that his defenders put in.

The Vikes defenders did a great job in containing Huskies’ forwards Jerson Barandica-Hamilton and Josh Northey, two of the more lethal offensive players in the Canada West Conference.

The Vikes were pleased with the quality they showed in the win. The team was effective in stringing passes together, thanks in large part to fourth-year midfielder and Canada West All-star, Sam Wingham, who also did an excellent job in maintaining possession for the Vikes.

Although Vikes leading scorer Cole McFarlane was unable to find the back of the net, he gave the Huskies plenty of defensive headaches as the shifty forward forced the Husky defenders into making a few reckless challenges.

Sunday’s result was a great way for the Vikes to round off the weekend of play.

After losing the previous weekend’s games to their mainland rivals, the UBC Thunderbirds and the Trinity Western Spartans, the Vikes needed a couple of strong performances to get their season back on track. With a 2-1 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears on Saturday, coupled with the convincing win against the Huskies on Sunday, the Vikes climb to third place in the Canada West Standings.