Victoria, B.C. – Dramatic goals at the end of each overtime period forced penalty kicks to decide the winner of the University of the Fraser Valley at University of Victoria Canada West women's soccer play-in game, Oct. 21 at Centennial Stadium. The Vikes advanced after the 1-1 (3-1 PK) result.
 
Kayley Lidstone paved the way for the Vikes, tallying four saves during play and making three in the shootout to send the Vikes to the quarterfinals. Kareena Sahota recorded 10 saves for the Cascades during her 120 minutes in net.
 
"That was a tough, tough game," said Vikes head coach Tracy David. "Credit to Fraser Valley, they made it very, very difficult and did really well in pushing us until the final minute of overtime. I'm proud of our players for persevering through this, they showed a lot of grit and determination, and we're going to need that going forward."
 
Though chances were had by both sides during the 90 minutes of regulation, both the Vikes and Cascades used the overtime periods to find the back of the net.
 
Nearly the full two minutes into stoppage time of the first overtime period, a free kick near the centre circle was given to the Vikes. A quick pass out to Adrianna Hilton saw the defender send a high-arcing shot straight to Emma Skalik near the top of the six-yard box. Amongst all the bodies in the box, Skalik used her head to guide the ball to the back of the net and put the Vikes ahead, 1-0, with one overtime period to play.
 
With seconds winding down in the final overtime period, Dessa Peterson's free kick from the left side found a moving Kiana Langston along the top line of the six-yard box. Timing it exactly right, Langston's head sent the ball over the line on the left side of the net for the equalizer, 1-1, in the 120th minute to force a shootout to decide the winner.
 

WSOC | 120' KIANA LANGSTON TIES THE GAME!!! ??????#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/kpcdbyWrr4

— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) October 21, 2023

 
Stepping up to the line first for the Cascades during penalty kicks, Brooklyn Franzon's shot was saved by Lidstone. In turn, Erin Jensen scored on the first opportunity for the Vikes to take a 1-0 lead. A make from UFV's Alanna Sydenham and one from Victoria's Brianne McLeish brought the tally to 2-1 in UVic's favour. Sealing the win, a make from the Vikes' Tannis McKay and Lidstone saves on the shots of Rylan Gray and Madison Telmer finalized the shootout at 3-1 for the home side.
 
"I knew it was going to be a battle, and our young squad came here and did that until the end of the game," noted Cascades head coach Ari Adams. "We have a lot of rookies that have played a lot of minutes and made key contributions this year, so the future looks promising for this group. It's unfortunate to lose in a shootout, but UVic came out on the winning end today."
 
The Vikes advance to the Canada West quarterfinals and will face MacEwan University Saturday, Oct. 28 in Edmonton, Alta., while the Cascades' season has now come to a close.