The University of Victoria Vikes women’s soccer defeated the UBC Thunderbirds by a score of 3-1 to capture the annual Keg Spring Cup tournament title. Trinity Kettyls scored the game-winning goal for the Vikes in the 54thminute to push her squad to victory over their long time rivals.
On the men’s side Vikes’ forward Ian Whibley scored the games opening goal in the 47thminute of the final for Victoria but the T-birds stormed back with three unanswered goals to knock off the tournament hosts.
Women’s Final: Victoria 3 UBC 1
Shots: UVIC (7) UBC (8)
The first of two Keg Cup finals saw hosts Victoria take on a familiar rival in the University of British Columbia. The Vikes looked to take home gold on home soil as UBC look to reverse the result from last year’s Consolation Final. Both teams scrambled to get ahead early, but it was the hosts who got on the board first. An 11thminute turnover from UBC left Taylor Bercic of the Vikes wide open in front of the goal who expertly slotted the ball into the back of the net. UBC registered some chances off of corner kicks shortly after the Vikes go ahead goal but were unable to convert. UBC looked to attack from the width but the Vikes defense easily cut out the crosses. The T-Birds gained control of the ladder parts of the half and possessed much of the ball but were unable to provide the finishing touch to their attacks. The half ended with the Vikes up one.
With 45 minutes to go, the T-Birds look to add to the score sheet while the Vikes look to close out the game and add to the trophy cabinet. A ball from UBC early in the half looked to threaten the Vikes backline but goalkeeper Puck Louwes bravely came off her line to punch the ball to safety. Following the early pressure from UBC, the Vikes countered but were unable to double their lead. Minutes later Trinity Kettyls found herself in behind the T-Birds back line after a well-weighted ball. After beating two UBC defenders she cracked the ball into the top left corner to double the Vikes lead in the 54thminute of play. After keeping a shutout for 135 straight minutes of play, Puck Louwes gave way to first year goalkeeper Olivia Procter to finish out the final. In the 80thminute a strike from 25 yards out found the back of the net for UBC who cut the lead in half with 10 minutes to go. The Vikes responded a minute later with a strike from Meagan Faulkner who cut in from the left wing and chipped the ball over the UBC keeper from just outside the 18 yard box. The Thunderbirds looked to get back into the game but the Vikes pressure was too much to handle. The final whistle blew with a 3-1 score line for Victoria. Responding to last year’s 3rdplace finish the Vikes rebounded to win the tournament.
Men’s Final: UBC 3 Victoria 1
Shots: UVIC (8) UBC (13)
In a rematch of the 2018 Keg Cup Final and a repeat of the earlier Women’s Final, the Vikes took on the UBC Thunderbirds. UBC controlled the early parts of the game while the Vikes looked dangerous on the counter attack. Both teams had threatening attacks down the wings but could not convert on any chances created. A blocked clearance by Ian Whibley of the Vikes saw Xavier Araujo through on net but the pass across the box was cut out by the T-Birds defense. Zach Verhoeven of UBC found himself open on top of the box but Harjot Nijjar in net for the Vikes made the save to keep the score at zero. Set pieces for both sides were dealt with handily and with nothing to separate the two sides apart from registered shots, the half time whistle blew with the game tied at zero.
Both teams kicked off the second half looking to get on the board first and it was Victoria who got the go-ahead goal in the 47thminute. For the second time in two games, Harjot Nijjar, the Vikes keeper, lofted a drop kick over top of the defense for Ian Whibley to run on to. One on one with the goalie, Whibley lobbed the ball over the helpless T-Birds keeper to put the Vikes one step further towards a second straight Keg Cup title over the T-Birds. A slipped through ball from T-Birds Victory Shumbusho saw Caleb Clarke through on goal. One on one with the keeper Clarke smashed the ball high and wide as the Vikes breathed a sigh of relief. Minutes later Verhoeven pounced on a through ball from Shumbusho and this time the T-Birds found the back of the net. Verhoeven slotted the ball into the far corner to tie the game at one a piece. Using the momentum gained from adding to the score sheet, the T-Birds controlled much of the ladder parts of the second half where the Vikes relied on their dangerous speed on the counter attack. An 81stminute T-Birds attack saw Victoria native Sam Fletcher run past the Vikes defense, beat Vikes keeper Nijjar and slide the ball into the open net to take the lead with 10 minutes remaining. UBC looked to double their lead as Kerman Pannu slipped through the Vikes defense and passed the ball into the open net after running past Nijjar in the final seconds of the game. With no time left on the clock the Vikes desperately heaved the ball down the field to get one last attack but were unable to recreate last year’s final result. The final whistle blew with the T-Birds taking home the title in a 3-1 game at Centennial Stadium.
Women’s Consolation Final: Alberta 1 Trinity Western 0
Shots: ALB (5) TWU (7)
The women’s consolation final between the Alberta Pandas and Trinity Western Spartans was the first game on the schedule for the final day of the Keg Spring Cup. The Spartans found themselves in the consolation game after a late goal allowed to UBC the day prior eliminated them from contention. Alberta took Victoria all the way to penalty kicks after the two teams were unable to find the score sheet on Day 1. Victoria knocked out the Pandas with a 4-3 win in the shootout.
Both teams kept the game close with some tight defence that saw neither team able to generate a ton of scoring opportunities. Despite the Spartans leading shot category in the match it was the Pandas that seemed to have the more dangerous offence. In the 67thminute Alberta finally was able to get one past the Trinity Western keeper for the lead. From there, the Pandas were able to lock down the Spartans for the remainder of the match and would eventually earn the 1-0 victory to finish third in the tournament.
Men’s Consolation Final: Trinity Western 1 Fraser Valley 1
Shots: UFV (4) TWU (10)
The men’s consolation final kicked off between two teams who know each other very well. The two lower mainland sides both came out looking for Bronze in a repeat of last year’s consolation final. The Trinity Western Spartans controlled most of the play throughout the half which forced Fraser Valley to rely on the counter attack. A controversial call midway through the half saw the Spartans get away with a sure penalty call. Trinity Western along with more possession of the ball also had more scoring opportunities, but it was the Cascades who got on the board first when Parman Minhas chased down a long ball over top of the Spartans defense and lobbed the ball over Trinity keeper Sebastian Colyn. Apart from the Cascades’ late goal, not much separated the two sides going into the second half.
The Spartans opened up the second half on the attack but the Cascades defense was up to the task. Trinity Western continued to control the game early on and as such Fraser Valley looked to spring front man Gurmaan Jhaj on the counter. Both teams took plenty of set pieces, but they were easily dealt with by the defensive sides. With little time left on the clock the Spartans were desperate to make up for the Cascades first half goal, while the Cascades looked to double their lead. An 87thminute free kick looked threatening but Fraser Valley keeper Joben Mander reached for the ball before the Trinity attackers could get a piece of it. With seconds left on the clock a 90thminute free kick from Andrew Samuel was swung into the box and brilliantly saved by Mander who saw the ball bounce off the crossbar and fall into the path of Jackson Tomson who tapped in the game tying goal. The Cascades were unable to respond as the final whistle blew to end the game. For the second straight year the Fraser Valley Cascades and the Trinity Western Spartans share 3rdplace in the annual Keg Cup.
