Eight Teams Fight For Conference Glory In Canada West
The following post from October 28, 2022 by Brian Swane special to Canada West is courtesy of Canada West https://canadawest.org/news/2022/10/28/general-msoc-eight-teams-fight-for-conference-glory.aspx.
After a fantastic regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds look to continue their dynastic reign in Canada West men’s soccer, beginning Saturday with the quarterfinal round of the conference playoffs.
UBC hosts Saskatchewan, while Thompson Rivers takes on Calgary, Alberta entertains UNBC, and UFV visits Mount Royal in single-elimination matches with a spot in the Canada West Men’s Soccer Final Four on the line.
The T-Birds are just three wins away from a fifth consecutive Canada West Men’s Soccer Championship Trophy, in what would be a record 22nd conference title. Alberta, which has captured the gold medal in Canada West men’s soccer 10 times, is the last team other than UBC to win the conference championship, in 2016. Calgary and Saskatchewan have each captured the Canada West crown once, the Huskies most recently winning in 2014.
On the other side of the spectrum, Mount Royal, UFV, UNBC, and Thompson Rivers are all in pursuit of their first men’s soccer championship since joining Canada West. Mount Royal is coming off a historic campaign, going undefeated in 14 games to become just the sixth team in the last 20 years to end the Canada West regular season without a loss.
WATCH
All games will be broadcast live on Canada West TV.
Here’s a look at who to watch in this weekend’s slate of matches:
UBC (9-3-3, First in Pacific Division) vs. Saskatchewan (3-7-4, Fourth in Prairie Division) – Saturday 7 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver
- Regular Season head-to-head
- Sept. 25: Saskatchewan 0 at UBC 4
- Who to Watch:
- Victory Shumbusho (UBC, fifth year, forward) capped his brilliant career with 11 goals and a pair of assists to rank second in Canada West with 13 points this season.
- Aaron Hidalgo-Mazzei (Saskatchewan, third year, defender) followed up last season’s Canada West Second Team All-Star selection by starting all 14 games for the Huskies.
Thompson Rivers (7-3-5, Second in Pacific Division) vs. Calgary (6-5-3, Third in Prairie Division) – Friday at 7 p.m. PT at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops
- Regular Season head-to-head
- Sept. 23: Calgary 1 at Thompson Rivers 0
- Who to Watch
- Jackson Gardner (Thompson Rivers, fourth year, goalkeeper) played every minute of the regular season, which he finished tied for first in Canada West with seven shutouts.
- Gianmarco Plenzik (Calgary, second year, midfield) scored the winner in Calgary’s regular season defeat of TRU and finished tied for second on the team with three goals.
Alberta (5-2-7, Second in Prairie Division) vs. UNBC (8-5-3, Third in Pacific Division) – Saturday 2:15 p.m. MTat Foote Field in Edmonton
- Regular Season head-to-head
- Sept. 16: UNBC 1 at Alberta 4
- Who to Watch
- Jake Bosch (Alberta, third year, midfield) had six points to rank second on the Bears in 2022, as he tied for the conference lead with five assists and scored his first career goal.
- Michael Henman (UNBC, fourth year, striker) equalled the Canada West single-season record with 19 goals and also led the conference with 21 points and 34 shots on goal.
Mount Royal (8-0-6, First in Prairie Division) vs. UFV (7-6-2, Fourth in Pacific Division) – Saturday 3 p.m. MT at Mount Royal Stadium Field in Calgary
- Regular Season head-to-head
- Did not play
- Who to Watch
- Mohamed El Gandour (Mount Royal, fourth year, forward) finished second in Canada West with 1.00 points per game, after getting eight goals and four assists in 12 matches.
- Taylor Richardson (UFV, fifth year, forward) scored eight times his last nine matches and to the season ranked fourth in the conference with an average of 0.62 goals per game.
For everything Men’s Soccer Playoffs, visit CW Championship Central here.