CALGARY – The University of Victoria Vikes opened the 2008 Canada West field hockey season Saturday with a 2-1 road victory over the Calgary Dinos at Hawkings Field.

The Vikes capitalized on a couple of Calgary defensive miscues to score, taking a 2-0 lead before the Dinos cut the deficit to a single goal midway through the second half. Courtney Low opened the scoring for Victoria in the 13th minute with an action goal, putting the Vikes up early. The teams played a full 30 minutes of shutout hockey until Brooke English potted another action goal for the Vikes in the 43rd minute.

Calgary responded by converting their lone short corner opportunity of the afternoon on a goal scored by Emma Guppy in the 52nd minute.

Despite the loss, Calgary coach Jenn Swagar was upbeat about her team's performance.

“We played great,” she said. “I saw definite improvements from last year, so I'm very proud of our effort today. We've been working on our short corners, and our execution on the one we got today was great.”

Fifteen-year-old Carolina Romeo made her CIS debut Saturday, starting the first game of her collegiate career.

“Carolina played outstanding,” Swagar said. “There were maybe some jitters at the beginning and she struggled a little with her execution at first, but she got much better as the game went on.”

The Dinos and Vikes conclude their weekend series Sunday in the rubber match at Hawkings Field, with game time set for 1 p.m.

-UC-