Sunday afternoon in Victoria, the UNBC Timberwolves (0-2-0) wrapped up their opening weekend of regular season games with a 4-1 loss to the Victoria Vikes. The TWolves got their offense from veteran Claire Turner who converted off a Kjera Hayman rebound 12 minutes to the match to record the first goal of the season for UNBC.
Ruby Nicholas paced the Vikes attack with a goal and an assist while her younger sister Claire also found the scoresheet for the first time. Abby McDonald and Sophie Fingarson rounded out the scoring for the Vikes who outshot UNBC 18-4 on the afternoon.
The TWolves starting 11 Sunday featured a pair of new faces as both goalkeeper Lauren Gubbels and midfielder Maresha Manulak were forced into starting duty after some key injuries in Friday’s opener at MRU. Any nerves that the pair of first years may have had were not visible in the early stages of their sunny Sunday clash on the Island.
On the other side, Victoria showed some solid poise and speed on their home turf and were rewarded in minute 10 with the opening goal of the match.
After a turnover at midfield, Abby McDonald took a pass from Taiya Scorey and placed a long shot towards the UNBC goal from five outside the 18-yard box. The ball took a weird hop and just snuck by UNBC keeper Lauren Gubbels, staking the home side to a 1-0 lead.
Neil Sedgwick’s crew found a quick answer though two minutes later.
Off a free-kick, Kjera Hayman placed a wonderful bending ball over top of four Vikes defenders. Goalkeeper Kayley Lidstone made the save but fumbled the rebound long enough for veteran Claire Turner to pounce on it. From there, Turner made no mistake securing her first of the season and fourth career goal as a Timberwolf.