LANGLEY, B.C. – Matthew Willemse (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) and Lynden Duggan (Edinburgh, Scotland) each scored tries for Trinity Western, but the result belonged to UVIC on the day, as the visiting Vikes earned a 45-14 victory Saturday afternoon at Willoughby Community Park. 

The Spartans were just 12 points adrift, 26-14, with 70-minutes to play, but the Vikes piled up the points late, tallying 19 points over the final 11 minutes. 

TWU is now 0-2 in Coastal Cup action, while Victoria is 1-1. 

Both Willemse and Duggan earned tries off long runs, as they both caught Victoria kicks and ran 70+ metres to score. Willemse, who scored in the first half, converted his own try, while Guiseppe du Toit (Maple Ridge, B.C.) converted Duggan's try. 

The Vikes scored the first two tries of the contest, going ahead 14-0, before Willemse cut Victoria's lead in half with a try in the 21st minute. 

Victoria extended their lead to 19-7 by halftime. 

The Vikes pushed their advantage to 26-7 before Duggan ran in a try in the 53rd minute. 

Victoria scored the final 19 points of the night. 

QUOTABLE
Andrew Evans – Director of Rugby
"We asked for energy after UBC and there was more energy. That was a focus this week and we accomplished that. Players like Genaro (Gandolfo, Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Jan Lourens (Smoky Lake, Alta.), were definitely leaders on the energy front, which was really good to see. 

"However in our eagerness to have energy today, we made a lot of simple mistakes that really hurt us. We had lots of knock-ons and some unnecessary in-the-side penalties, which gave UVIC a lot of opportunities. Our ground work left much to be desired today and we took more penalties there. We certainly have lots of work to do, but the good thing is that we have four more games in the Coastal Cup to respond."

NOTABLE
•    The last time the Spartans and Vikes played was in the quarter-finals at the 2022 Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship, with TWU winning 23-22. 
•    TWU is 1-4 lifetime against the Victoria. 

UP NEXT
TWU will play UVIC Sept. 30 at 2:30 p.m. (PT) at Wallace Field in Victoria

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby and disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.

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