2018 U SPORTS Women’s Field Hockey Championship Preview: Vikes, Lions set to meet in national finals for first time since 1994
U SPORTS TORONTO – After seven years, there will be a new U SPORTS women’s field hockey champion.
With the UBC Thunderbirds dominant run at the top coming to an end, the Canada West champion Victoria Vikes will fly east to face the OUA champion York Lions in a best-of-three series in Toronto.
The Vikes are set to appear in their 34th national championship and third championship final in the last five seasons. This is the second year of the new two-team format that will pit the Lions against the Vikes in a national for the first since 1994. The teams have previously met in the final in 1994, 1989 and 1984, with Victoria winning all three of those match ups.
The 11-time national champion Vikes will be on the hunt for the program’s first McCrae Cup since last hoisting it in 2008 on home soil. The storied Vikes field hockey program won six of their titles in a nine-year span (1987-1995), while all 11 banners have been under the reign of current head coach Lynne Beecroft who is in her 35th season at the helm. Krista Thompson has been with the program for 22 of those seasons as assistant coach.
York will also make history as they return to the national final for the second-straight season after not making it to the championship tournament since 2007. Last season, the Lions impressed with an 11-1 record to finish as OUA champions and U SPORTS silver medallists. The Lions are still on the hunt for their first U SPORTS banner under head coach Zeeshan Minhas.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Best-of-three series: Victoria vs. York
All games at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT, streamed at USPORTS.LIVE
Game 1: Friday, Nov. 2
Game 2: Saturday, Nov. 3
Game 3: Sunday, Nov. 4 (if necessary)
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for university sports in Canada. Every year, close to 20,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit USPORTS.ca.
For further information, please contact:
Frank Christie
Sports Information
York University
Off: 416-736-5984
Cell: 647-637-1635
chrifr@yorku.ca
Ken Saint-Eloy
Senior Manager,
Marketing and Communications
U SPORTS
Cell: 647-871-7595
ksainteloy@usports.ca
Alan Hudes
Coordinator, Communications
U SPORTS
Off: 905-508-3000 ext. 242
Cell: 647-991-5343
ahudes@usports.ca