VICTORIA, British Columbia – The Trinity Western Spartans battled to the end but found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard with a 3-1 loss to the Victoria Vikes in their Canada West conference opening match Friday night at Centennial Stadium in Victoria, B.C.
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Fourth-year midfielder Jordan Low (Port Moody, B.C.) scored the lone goal for the Spartans in the 70th minute. Scoring for the Vikes were Matthew Pearse in the 29th minute, Finlay Tugwell in the 77th minute, and Sam Calkins in the 90+ minute.
 
TWU second-year keeper Peter Rogenthien (Austin, TX) made four saves in the loss. While Victoria's Callum Weir made five saves in the Vikes' win.
 
UP NEXT
TWU will now head back to the mainland to take on the UBC Thunderbirds tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in Vancouver. TWU's Canada West home opener is against the UNBC Timberwolves on August 29-30 at Chase Office Field. The games can be seen live on Canadawest.tv.

QUOTABLE
Mike Shearon, TWU Head Coach
"It was an ok start to the season. Obviously, we are not happy about the result, but there are a number of good takeaways from it. We had some good moments on both sides of the ball. Jordy's goal was well worked. Our subs did a good job changing the game for us."

"We need to build off today's performance tomorrow night vs UBC which isn't an easy task against the defending national champs."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Vikes opened the scoring when Jag Zaharia sent a ball into the Spartans' penalty area, Matthew Pearse went high and headed the ball past Rogenthien to put Victoria up 1-0 in the 29th minute. Both teams had chances throughout the remainder of the half, but the score remained 1-0 in Victoria's favor after 45 minutes.
 
The Spartans finally got on board in the 70th minute when Low headed a cross from third-year midfielder Marcel Bona (Vancouver, B.C.) to tie the match up at 1-1. Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived as Victoria's Finlay Tugwell put the Vikes back in the lead, 2-1, with a goal in the 77th minute on a header from a corner kick by Matteo Hilton. The Vikes got the insurance goal in extra time when Sam Calkins took advantage of a TWU turnover to put Victoria up 3-1.
 
NOTABLE

• The Vikes outshot the Spartans 15-7 in total shots, and 7-6 in shots on goal
• TWU finished the match with three corners, while Victoria finished with two.
• TWU enters 2025 ranked No. 6 in the Canada West preseason coaches' poll, while the Victoria Vikes are ranked No. 2.
• TWU finished last season fourth in the Pacific Division with a record of 6-6-3 in Canada West conference play. The Spartans' season ended in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 loss to the Alberta Golden Bears. The Vikes finished the 2024 season with a 9-2-4 record and second place in the Pacific Division before being upset in the CW quarterfinals by the Mount Royal Cougars 2-1 in overtime.
• TWU is currently 21-27-5 lifetime against Victoria. The Spartans were 0-2 against the Vikes last season, losing 1-0 and 2-0.

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 women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others. 
 
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