After falling 3-0 to conference leaders Capilano Blues on Saturday, the Royals entered Sunday's game with the drive to quickly bounce back, tallying yet another win against the defending PACWEST champions VIU Mariners. This improves the currently number 6 CCAA-ranked Royals to an impressive 4-1-1 record on the season while showing no signs of slowing down.

This marked their second straight shutout win on home turf after defeating the Langara Falcons 3-0 in a dominating fashion last Sunday and is also their third clean-sheet win of the season, with 2 of them being against VIU.

The match saw plenty of back-and-forth action as both teams traded offensive zone rushes early in the first half. In the 14^th minute, the Royals pressured the Mariners on their own end to cause a misplay between their defender and goalkeeper. Rookie Christine Singh capitalized on the empty net chance to score her first career goal with the Royals, which later would be the game winner.

Down by one, the Mariners became unrelenting in the Royals' defensive zone as they continuously directed balls on net in their attempts to tie the game. The turning point of the match came during the 71^st minute as another misplay by the Mariners led to a crucial chance for 1st-year forward Amanda Hila to strike the net from the penalty arc and score the second goal of the game (the first of her collegiate career) to double the Royals lead to 2.

The Royals backline was put to the test the rest of the match, intercepting numerous dangerous chances to keep the visitors scoreless as the Mariners looked to generate any sort of momentum. However, they finished the remainder of the game scoreless. The win secures another 3 points for the Royals as they stay second in the PACWEST conference with a current total of 13 points.

Noteworthy:

• Second-year Douglas goalkeeper Elisha Machado shone during the game as she was a huge contributor in shutting down the Mariners offence, making a notable 14 saves between the pipes to keep VIU scoreless.
• The defending PACWEST champions Mariners have yet to score a goal against the Royals this season as Douglas recorded clean sheets against them in a 1-0 result on the road on September 25^th, and 2-0 at home this past Sunday.

The Royals have not lost a single match at home this season. They have two home games left, hosting the conference leaders Capilano Blues on Sunday October 17, and finishing their regular season welcoming the VIU Mariners again on Saturday October 23.