The Douglas Royals women's soccer team is set to continue their strong start to the regular season with an exciting doubleheader this weekend against the defending PACWEST champions VIU Mariners on Saturday (Sept. 25) and hosting the Langara Falcons on Sunday (Sept. 26) at Cunnings Field.

The Royals took the pitch at their season opener against Langara in a dominating fashion, scoring 4 goals in the second half and outshooting the Falcons 19-7 throughout the whole game. They finished off the weekend with a strong defensive performance against Capilano that saw plenty of action in the latter half of the match as they traded goals with the Blues to finish with a 2-2 tie.

Young talent shines for the Royals:

Second-year forward Alicia Skirzyk was a huge contributor to the Royals offense over the weekend as she tallied 2 goals including the game-winner against the Falcons on Saturday. On Tuesday, she was announced as the PACWEST Female Athlete of the Week. Goalkeeper Elisha Machado also had an impressive weekend, making 18 saves in total during both games (14 of them against the Blues) and being a solid presence in the Royals backline between the pipes. She is currently ranked second amongst PACWEST goalie leaders.

Against VIU:

• The Royals women played the Mariners 4 times in the 2019-20 season, finishing with 2 losses and 2 ties.
• They enter Saturday's matchup against the defending PACWEST champions with a 1-0-1 record after tallying up 4 points in a strong opening weekend, placing them at 1^st in the PACWEST conference and 9^th in the first week of the CCAA National Rankings.
• VIU comes into this game with a 1-0-0 record and 3 points after defeating the Langara Falcons in a 5-0 shutout this past Sunday. They are currently ranked 2^nd in the PACWEST conference with 3 points.

Against Langara:

• The Royals' commanding win over the Falcons will help the squad's confidence as they welcome Langara in their second home game of the season on Sunday.
• With a current 0-0-2 record, the Falcons will be hungry for a win and the Royals will need to connect with each other seamlessly on the pitch to generate the same level of offense as they did last Saturday whilst maintaining strong defensive play in the backend and between the pipes.

This weekend figures to be a good chance to keep the Royals' positive momentum going and tally up as many possible points to stay within the top of the conference in their quest for a PACWEST title.

Once again, the Royals women will play the VIU Mariners on Saturday (Sept. 25) at 12:30pm and host the Langara Falcons Sunday (Sept. 26) at 12:00pm on Cunnings Field.