The Quest University men’s and women’s soccer teams were disappointed on a long day of travel on the opening weekend of play this past Saturday.  After an early start due to the Gran Fondo bike race on the Sea to Sky highway, the teams were both shut out by Vancouver Island University.  But neither head coach was in the mood to make excuses after the game.

“We played aggressively for 90 minutes and were the fitter team,” said head coach Martina Franko in the dressing room post-game.  “We set this goal prior to the season and have already achieved something.”

Defensive miscues and goals in both halves gave the Mariners a 2-0 victory in the 1pm women’s kick-off.  First-year keeper Tiana Gilchrist showed impressive bravery throughout the game, making several key stops to keep it close.

On the men’s side, dead ball situations were the tale of the tape, losing 3-0 in their opener.

“It’s difficult to get back in the game after conceding on two set-pieces,” said coach Adam Day of his team’s performance.  “This is something we’ll be working on in training but credit VIU: they were good in the air.”

Both teams will continue on the road this weekend as they travel to the interior for games against UBCO and TRU respectively.  On the positive side, mixed results in both groups have left the standings wide open.

Jonas Worth, Quest University athletics.