CW BioSteel Players of the Week: Oct. 21

Oct. 21, 2025 - From playoff pushes to championship glory, Canada West teams delivered plenty of drama last weekend. Volleyball returned to the court, football playoff races intensified, and the Victoria Vikes turned in a banner-worthy performance—capturing conference titles in both Field Hockey and Rugby 15s.

It was a great weekend to be a Vike, as Victoria’s women’s teams shined in the championship spotlight. The Vikes field hockey squad secured its seventh straight conference title in dramatic fashion, netting the game-tying goal in the 58th minute to earn a 2-2 draw with UBC—a result that secured another title. Meanwhile, the Vikes rugby side dethroned UBC with a thrilling 18-17 victory in Sunday’s Canada West Final. A late try and clutch conversion sealed Victoria’s first title since 2015, ending the Thunderbirds’ five-year championship run. Alberta claimed bronze in front of their home supporters at Foote Field.

On the gridiron, both Saskatchewan and Regina improved to 6-1, clinching home playoff games in next week’s semifinals. Manitoba also locked up a postseason berth with a gritty win over Calgary, setting up a dramatic final weekend that will see UBC, Calgary, and Alberta all fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot.

The regular season also wrapped up on the soccer pitch, with ​ battles for playoff seeding and home-field advantage. UBC’s men’s and women’s programs both capped off undefeated regular seasons, with the women’s side making history as the first team in conference history not to concede a single goal during league play. The postseason begins this upcoming weekend.

Let's get to our BioSteel Players of the Week.

Women's Soccer - Dakota Beckett (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 24 vs VIC: 2 saves, shutout win in 4-0 win

Oct. 25 vs VIC: 3 saves, shutout win in 3-0 win

UBC's veteran keeper earned her 7th and 8th shutout wins, respectively over the Victoria Vikes to lead the defending national champions to an unprecedented regular season without conceding a single goal. Beckett closed out the campaign with a conference leading eight clean sheets. Going undefeated in Canada West play for a second straight season, the Thunderbirds will now host the Saskatchewan Huskies for a quarter-final battle Saturday.

View WSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Soccer - Lachlan Will (TRU WolfPack)

Oct. 18 vs TWU: 3 shots in 1-0 loss

Oct. 19 vs UFV: 2 goals, 4 shots in 4-1 win

Will and the WolfPack finished their season on a strong note, defeating playoff bound Fraser Valley 4-1 in their regular season finale. Will scored two goals in the contest, including the opening marker just over a minute in. His seven shots on the weekend pushed his shot total to 40 on the season, a number that places him fifth in the conference.

View MSOC: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Rugby 15s - Olivia Newsome (Victoria Vikes)

Oct. 16 vs ALB: 2 tries, 6 converts, 22 points in 67-0 win

Oct. 19 vs UBC: 2 penalty goals, 1 convert in 18-17 win

Newsome stepped up in the biggest way for the Vikes at the Canada West Championships. She dominated the semi-final contest against host Alberta, scoring two tries and adding six converts for 22 total points, surpassing her regular season total of 15 points.

She added to that impressive performance with two penalty goals in the gold medal game and the biggest of all, a game-winning convert on a last second try scored by Kira Smed.

Newsome's kicks were a key factor in the Vikes winning their first title since 2015.

View RUGBY 15s: Standings | Schedule

Field Hockey - Sydney Le (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 25 at VIC: 2 G in 3-0 win

Oct. 26 at VIC: 1 G in 2-2 tie

The 2024 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year led all players in scoring in a heartbreaking weekend for UBC that saw the Vikes claim the conference title despite the T-Birds coming away with a clutch win Saturday, only to come up just short in Sunday's season finale.

Le scored twice Saturday to lead the T-Birds to a massive win to set up Sunday's winner take all affair. The second year scored again Sunday, her fourth of the season.

View Field Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Offensive Player of the Week - Jackson Tachinski (Manitoba Bisons)

Oct. 18 vs CGY: 22 completions, 333 yards, 1 TD, 11 carries, 49 yards, 2 TD in 33-31 win

In his final regular season game at home as a Bison, Tachinski set a career high in passing yards while throwing for a season high in completions and carries, helping Manitoba clinch a seventh straight playoff berth with a 33-31 win over Calgary.

Tachinski has five rushing scores in his last two games and his 23 career rushing majors are the most ever by a Bisons quarterback and tied for third most by any player in school history. His 1,676 career regular season rushing yards are also the most by a Bisons pivot and he's one of just three Bisons to throw over 400 career completions at the QB position.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Football Defensive Player of the Week - Seth Hundeby (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Oct. 17 at UBC: 6 Tackles, 3 Solo, 2 TFLs, 1 INT, 1 Strip-Sack in 24-10 win

Fifth-year linebacker Seth Hundeby was a one-man wrecking crew Friday night against the UBC Thunderbirds, helping the Huskies to a 24-10 road victory. In the second quarter, Hundeby came up with a pair of plays to set up Huskie scores. First the 2024 All-Canadian earned a TFL on second down to force a T-Bird punt then on the very next possession he made his second interception of the season. Finally in the fourth-quarter, a sack-fumble of Drew Viotto in the redzone stopped any threat of UBC points.

View Football: Standings | ​ | Leaders

Football Special Teams Player of the Week - Maya Turner (Manitoba Bisons)

Oct. 18 vs CGY: 4-4 on FG attempts, 3-3 on XP in 33-31 win

Turner doubled her season total with a perfect four-for-four showing on the weekend, while also hitting all three extra points in a tight 33-31 win over Calgary. She had a longest field goal of 26, with her four field goals tying for third most in a game by a Bison. She has eight field goals on the season and now has 30 career makes, just two shy of fourth in school history.

View Football: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Hockey - Annalise Wong (UBC Thunderbirds)

Oct. 17 vs ALB: 1 A, PPA, 3 shots in 3-0 win

Oct. 18 vs ALB: 2 G, 1 A, GWG, 3 shots +2 in 5-1 win

Wong extended her points streak to five games with a four point weekend, scoring twice including the game-winner over the Pandas Saturday to help lead UBC to the weekend sweep over the defending conference champions.

Wong also set up Friday's game winner on the power play and now leads the conference scoring race with nine points through the first six games of the season.

View Women's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Hockey - Chantz Petruic (Saskatchewan Huskies)

Oct. 17 at TWU: 2 G, 1 A, 3 Points, 8 Shots, 1 PPP

Oct. 18 at TWU: 3 G, 3 Points, 11 Shots, 1 PPP, Hat-trick

In a dominant weekend for the Saskatchewan Huskies, Chantz Petruic turned in an incredible individual performance. In a 5-4 OT win Friday night, Petruic scored a pair of consecutive goals to put the dogs up 3-0 before assisting on the fourth Saskatchewan score. The following night, the Moose Jaw product then recorded his first career Canada West hat trick securing a 5-goal, 6-point weekend for the fifth-year player.

View Men's Hockey: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Volleyball - Grace Vallis (Winnipeg Wesmen)

Oct. 17 at REG: 18 kills, .395%, 5 blocks in 3-2 loss

Oct. 18 at REG: 9 kills, .438%, 5 digs, 3 aces, 2 blocks in 3-0 win

Grace Vallis carried the Wesmen to a road split with a spectacular offensive effort from the middle. Her 18 kills on Friday were a career-high and the most by a Canada west middle blocker in the past three seasons. She finished the weekend hitting .407 with seven total blocks.

View Women's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Men's Volleyball - Kaden Schmidt (Trinity Western Spartans)

Oct. 16 at UFV: 17 kills (5.67/set), .444 hitting percentage, 2 digs, 1 ace in 3-0 win 

Oct. 17 vs UFV: 12 kills (4/set), .857 hitting percentage, 1 ace, 1 dig, 1 block in 3-0 win

Kaden Schmidt was nearly unstoppable over the Spartans weekend sweep of UFV as he averaged a conference-best 4.83 kills per set and a CW leading .585 hitting percentage. The fourth-year left side was especially dominant in Friday's win, as he had 12 kills on 14 attempts without committing a single attacking error for an .857 hitting percentage.

View Men's Volleyball: Standings | Schedule | Leaders

Women's Wrestling - Myah Phillips (Saskatchewan Huskies)

In her first action of the 2025-25 season, fourth-year wrestler Myah Phillips turned in a dominant performance at the Dino Open. The 2025 U SPORTS Bronze medalist secured gold in the 83kg weight class after taking her three matches by pin and technical superiority (2). Not only did she fail to lose a match, but she also surrendered just two points against while totalling 30 of her own.

Men's Wrestling - Kaden de Castro (Calgary Dinos)

It was an impressive debut for Dinos rookie Kaden de Castro. The local product earned a pin in his first ever U SPORTS meet, taking down Saskatchewan's Yule Kebrom in a tidy 2:08 as the Dinos dominated their dual meet on Friday.

Then, at Saturday's Dinos Invitational, de Castro once again quickly made a name for himself. The rookie earned a tech fall win over Saskatchewan's Ashton Bodnarchuk in just 1:31 before another win to advance to the final before settling for the silver medal at the tournament.

In all, de Castro went 3-1 in his first weekend of university wrestling.

About Players of the Week:

The Canada West Players of the Week, Presented by BioSteel is a weekly celebration of athletic achievements across the conference. Each week, deserving student-athletes are nominated by SIDs from each member institution. Canada West office staff review nominations and select the recipients.

About BioSteel:

BioSteel is a leading sports hydration and nutrition brand, delivering clean, high-performance solutions trusted by professional athletes, top universities, and teams across North America and Europe, including major organizations like the NHL, MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA, and their affiliates. Alongside hydration, BioSteel offers premium protein and sports nutrition products, catering to athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and those striving for a healthier lifestyle. Committed to excellence, BioSteel equips top athletes and active individuals with the essential tools to reach peak performance and sustain wellness every day.

About Canada West:

As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 17 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West’s mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.