It has been a weird year for the University of Victoria men's soccer team.
As the defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions, the Vikes have struggled on the road this Canada West season, while they have been perfect (5-0) at Centennial Stadium.
The good news for the Vikes is that they finish the regular season at home with games against the Mount Royal Cougars (tonight) and the Winnipeg Wesmen (Saturday). Both are scheduled to start at 7: 15 p.m.
The Vikes need to win only one of those games to advance to the Final Six playoffs, starting on Thursday in Edmonton. The host Alberta Golden Bears have locked up a playoff spot in the Prairie Division with a record of seven wins, two losses and four ties.
Mount Royal, from Calgary, and Winnipeg are both first-year teams in Canada West and the Cougars still have an outside chance of claiming the third playoff spot in the Prairie Division with a record of 4-8-1. Winnipeg has a record of 1-9-3.
The Vikes currently hold a four-point edge over the fourth-place Fraser Valley Cascades. Fraser Valley will also be playing Mount Royal and Winnipeg this weekend.
For the Vikes, they will attempt to get the job accomplished without the services of their two top scorers - Craig Gorman and Craig Taylor. Gorman, who leads the club with six goals, has an ankle injury, while Taylor, who has potted five goals, has a ligament problem.
"When I saw our schedule about eight months ago, I thought a playoff berth might come down to the final weekend,'' said UVic coach Bruce Wilson. "We knew that it was going to be difficult to get a playoff spot with our schedule."
The Vikes had five losses and two ties on the road this season but with the wacky Canada West schedule, four of those defeats came at the University of B.C. and Trinity Western. UBC (11-0-1) and Trinity Western (9-1-2) have already clinched spots into the Final Six.
"We have destiny in our own hands and if we don't win one of those two games, we don't deserve to be in the playoffs,'' said Wilson.
Wilson carried a big roster of 24 players and now some of the others will have to step in for Taylor and Gorman.
"We have looked after our games at home this year and we will be tough to beat this weekend."
Cam Hundal, the most valuable player at last year's CIS championship at Centennial Stadium, has yet to score a goal this year but Wilson says he has been very valuable.
"Cam [Hundal] is not really a goal scorer," said Wilson. "He is more of a setup artist. Last year, not too many teams knew anything about him because he was usually coming off the bench in the second half.
This year, they are double teaming him all over the field.''
Hundal has contributed four assists.
