It was essentially boys versus men.

But the reigning CIS national champion University of Victoria Vikes gave the professional Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer all they could handle Sunday afternoon in a highly diverting exhibition match before 2,831 fans at Centennial Stadium.

The Whitecaps, preparing for their 2012 MLS opener March 10 against the Montreal Impact at B.C. Place, were stretched before prevailing 2-1 over the Vikes.

“I didn’t think about them [Whitecaps] as pros, just as another opponent,” said Vikes striker Cam Hundal, whose crafty quickness tested the Whitecaps defence.

“But the ’Caps were very fit and skilled.”

Not that the Whitecaps didn’t in return notice an emerging player like the freshman Hundal, who was named CIS national tournament MVP on the same Centennial Stadium pitch in November.

“He [Hundal] was very dangerous on the left side,” said Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie.

“We’ll keep an eye on him [in terms of his potential future development into a pro]. Overall, I was very impressed by UVic. Their structure and organization was hard to break down. It was a good performance by them.”

It was the kind of exhibition game in which the Whitecaps were put in a no-win situation in terms of expectations. If they handily beat UVic, they would get no credit because people expected nothing less of a pro MLS club against a university team — even if the Vikes are the defending CIS champions.

Lose, tie — or even win a close one like they did Sunday — and, well, the questions start.

Rennie noted it is still just the exhibition season for his club, which operates at the highest level of pro soccer in North America.

“We’re making progress,” he said.

“We still have a lot of work to do. But we’re improving. It’s what you would expect at this point. It was a good run and nobody got hurt. It’s always nice to win.”

The physical differences were marked between the older professional players of the Whitecaps and youthful Vikes collegians, who had just returned Saturday night from a 2-0-1 tour of Florida. Yet UVic acquitted itself well against the ’Caps, who started nine signed players and only two trialists.

The pros displayed some clever footwork but Vikes goalkeeper Elliot Mitrou was up to the challenge in a first half that ended 1-0 in favour of the Whitecaps. And even that lead was controversial.

Swiss import Davide Chiumiento scored on a penalty kick at 10 minutes after Vancouver striker Darren Mattocks was tripped in the box. Chiumiento hit the post on his first attempt but was awarded a successful retry after Mitrou was called for encroachment on Chiumiento’s missed first penalty kick.

That was quite a call to make but the referee was not about to cut the amateurs any slack against the pros.

“The first half was fun. I was happy with my game,” said Chiumiento, the former Juventus prospect, who has been described as the “Swiss Ronaldinho,” and who has 13 U-23 caps for Switzerland and one with the senior national team.

“The Victoria fans were great. I was really surprised by the positive crowd. It shows that football is important here. And the [UVic] team has a couple of good players. [Hundal] is certainly a good player. It was a good test for us. I felt really comfortable in the first half and we should have scored more in that first half because of all the chances we had. Victoria played well in the second half.”

English import Matt Watson made it 2-0 for Vancouver by blasting the ball past Mitrou from close range at 52 minutes. It would turn out to be the winning goal.

UVic midfielder Thomas Mallette was brought down in the box at 65 minutes. Craig Gorman coolly stepped up and converted the penalty kick to bring the Vikes to within one.

Jun Marques Davidson was slapped with his second yellow card for bringing down Mallette, equalling a red card, and leaving the Whitecaps with 10 players for the rest of the game.

The Vikes pressed their advantage and just missed equalizing at 77 minutes when Hundal set up Mallette, whose shot sailed narrowly past the net. Then a shot by Gorman went over the net at 88 minutes.

“It’s definitely much quicker than a CIS game,” said Gorman.

“They [Whitecaps] shut you down a lot faster and your decisions on the ball have to be all that much quicker. But it’s always good to play against players of a higher quality. We were a little nervous to start but then settled down.”

Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson was proud of his charges.

“I thought we did very well,” said the Canadian1986 World Cup captain, in his 24th season of coaching the Vikes.

“We had our chances to tie the game. It was a good atmosphere. The crowd of nearly 3,000 is an indication that Island fans want to see the Whitecaps. It was good PR for the ’Caps and an excellent opportunity for our program.”

The Whitecaps, who currently have 26 signed players, continue their exhibition campaign this coming week at the eight-team Disney Pro Soccer Classic tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com