Weir the hero as Vikes get past Horns in penalties

CALGARY – The Victoria Vikes survived a spirited challenge from the Lethbridge Pronghorns, advancing to the Canada West men’s soccer semifinal after a dramatic 2–1 shootout victory on Friday evening at MRU Field #2.

The teams were inseparable through 120 minutes of play, battling to a 1–1 draw before the Vikes held their nerve from the spot to move on.

Lethbridge came out on the front foot, pressing high and earning several early corners. Their pressure paid off in the 26th minute when Kai Sakaguchi finished calmly from the top of the box after a setup from Will Hughes, giving the Pronghorns a deserved 1–0 lead. Keeper Tegan Romaine made a series of key saves to preserve the advantage, as the Horns carried a one-goal edge and an 8–4 corner lead into halftime.

Victoria responded strongly after the break, taking control of possession and finding an equalizer in the 60th minute. Aiden Grew pounced on a loose ball inside the six-yard box after a Yassin Guitouni corner to tie the match 1–1. The Vikes continued to press, but Romaine stood tall with another highlight-reel stop to keep the game level.

The final stages were tense, with both sides trading chances and yellow cards as fatigue and physicality set in. Hughes remained a threat on the left for Lethbridge, while Victoria’s Ole Cameron nearly won it in the 89th minute, forcing a spectacular diving save from Romaine to push the game to extra time.

Neither side could find a winner through 30 minutes of overtime, setting up a dramatic shootout to decide the quarter-final. Victoria converted all four of its attempts—through Matthew Pearse, Guitouni, Archie Tugwell and Alex Moody—while goalkeeper Callum Weir denied both Hughes and Sakaguchi to secure the win. Ben Gingrass scored the lone penalty for the Pronghorns.

Afterward, Moody credited his keeper for the result.

“Callum Weir is the best keeper in the league, hands down,” he said. “There's nothing I can really say except that he's just unbelievable. I’m so confident as a defender having him in my back.”

After playing 120 minutes to get by Lethbridge, Moody knows rest will be important ahead of Sunday's semifinal clash with the host Mount Royal Cougars. 

“It's a big, big shift. We need to rest up, obviously 120 minutes is a lot of minutes. I remember MRU from before, I think we owe them a good game.”

The Vikes now advance to face the top-seeded Cougars in Sunday’s semifinal at 1 p.m. MT on Stadium Field. All matches are streaming live on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel.