Men’s Soccer
Montreal’s Essomé Penda headlines U SPORTS men’s soccer major award winners
The Cape Breton Capers are looking to hoist the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy for the second time in program history when the 2021 Men’s Soccer Championship opens later this week at Carleton University in Ottawa.
The Capers will be looking for redemption after being ousted from the 2019 national tournament in the semifinals by the Montreal Carabins in an overtime thriller. The Capers, led by captain Charlie Waters, earned bronze in the tournament but will be looking for U SPORTS gold after dominating the AUS conference, earning their fifth consecutive conference banner.
Full draw results, a championship schedule and team-by-team previews are available below.
The 2021 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off on Thursday at The Ravens Perch in Carleton and concludes next Sunday with the gold medal game at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT.
Digital coverage can be accessed on cbcsports.ca the free CBC Gem streaming service and the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices.
TEAM PROFILES
| Team | Playoff Finish | Records (Regular Season / Playoffs) | Last / Total Titles | goals/game | goals against/game |
|
Carleton |
Hosts |
7-1-2 / 1-1 |
Never |
3.45 |
0.82 |
|
Cape Breton |
AUS Champions |
8-1-3 / 2-0 |
2017 / 1 |
2.92 |
0.67 |
|
Montreal |
RSEQ Champions |
9-3-0 / 2-0 |
2019 / 2 |
2.50 |
0.67 |
|
UBC |
CW Champions |
4-2-6 / 3-0 |
2013 / 13 |
1.60 |
1.26 |
|
Laval |
RSEQ Finalists |
8-1-3 / 1-1 |
2009/1 |
1.92 |
1.00 |
|
Guelph |
OUA Champions |
8-0-2 / 3-0 |
Never |
1.70 |
0.30 |
|
Victoria |
CW Finalists |
6-3-3/2-1 |
5/2011 |
1.87 |
1.00 |
|
Saint Mary’s |
AUS Finalists |
6-3-3 / 2-1 |
Never |
2.00 |
1.25 |
TEAM LEADERS
| Team | Points | goals | assists | starting goalkeeper |
|
Carleton |
Matteo de Brienne, 7 |
Matteo de Brienne, 7 |
Tareq Hamad, 3 |
Kyle Potter (7-1-2) |
|
Cape Breton |
Charlie Waters, 20 |
Kairo Coore, 15 |
Charlie Waters, 18 |
Jordan Watkins(3-2-0) Daniel Clarke(5-1-1) |
|
Montreal |
Guy-Frank Essomé Penda, 7 |
Guy-Frank Essomé Penda, 7 |
Alexis Stevens, 3 |
Félix Goulet (9-3-0) |
|
UBC |
Tristan Ngoghe, 7 |
Tristan Ngoghe, 6 |
Christopher Lee, 3 |
Bennett McKay (4-2-6) |
|
Laval |
Heikel Jarras, 10 |
Heikel Jarras, 6 |
Heikel Jarras, 4 |
Philippe Blouin, (8-1-3) |
|
Guelph |
Evan Dick, 4 |
Lucas Doros, 3 & |
Evan Dick, 4 |
Svyatolav Artemenko (8-0-2) |
|
Victoria |
Ian Whibley, 11 |
Ian Whibley, 8 |
Isaac Koch, 4 |
Harjot Nijar (6-3-3) |
|
Saint Mary’s |
Sean Freeman, 7 |
Sean Freeman, 5 |
Sean Freeman, 12 |
Jensen Brown (5-3-3) |
Carleton Ravens
Hosts
The road to Ottawa has seen a variety of Ravens line-ups take the pitch. A good mix of veterans and talented youngsters, the Carleton Ravens have continued their goal scoring ways, playing an aggressive and entertaining brand of soccer that entertains fans, supporters and opposition fans alike.
Featuring a wealth of experience from captain Ricky Comba, veterans Scott Mazzotta, Raphael Garcia and rookie sensation Matteo de Brienne the Ravens are a versatile bunch that challenged the OUA Finalist York Lions for the OUA East lead. With a 7-1-2 record the Ravens enter the U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship with a country-best 40 regular-season goals scored.
Cape Breton Capers
AUS Champions
The 4-time defending AUS Champions finished the regular season with an 8-1-3 record and ranked #1 in the U Sports National Rankings. Kairo Coore led the AUS with 15 goals. Charlie Waters let the AUS in assists (18) and points (20). Coore , Waters, Euan Bald and AUS Rookie of the Year Jose Ribeiro De Cunha were named AUS 1st Team-All-Stars. Midfielder Raine Lyn was named a 2nd-Team All-Star.
The CAPERS led the AUS in offense with 35 goals for and had the best defense with 8 goals against. The CAPERS finished the season with a 10-game undefeated streak. The CAPERS enter the National Championships having won the 2017 Gold medal, 2018 Silver medal and 2019 Bronze medal.
Montreal Carabins
RSEQ Champions
Once again, the University of Montreal Carabins had a fantastic regular season, earning their fourth consecutive RSEQ title.
The squad led by head coach Pat Raimondo was an offensive powerhouse, scoring an impressive 30 goals, the highest among any RSEQ team.
The defense did just as well, conceding a meager eight goals to its opponents, which is also a conference record. Led by several well-experienced veterans including Guy-Frank Essomé Penda, Quentin Paumier, Félix Goulet and Kareem Sow, the defending champions will be looking to pick up where they left off at the 2019 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship.
UBC Thunderbirds
CW Champions
The shortened 2021 Canada West season had its fair share of challenges for the Thunderbirds, most notably by way of a number of injuries to key personnel.
Thanks to a 4-0 win over Victoria in the final game of the regular season, combined with out of town results the ‘Birds were able to secure a home playoff berth for the Canada West quarter-finals where they dispatched the Calgary Dinos, 2-1.
UBC headed to Calgary for the Canada West Final Four and advanced to the gold medal match with a 1-0 overtime victory over the host Mount Royal Cougars on Jackson Farmer’s goal in the 101st minute.
Clinching their berth at the U SPORTS National Championship for a sixth straight season, the Thunderbirds earned their fourth consecutive Canada West banner with a 1-0 win over Victoria.
Laval Rouge et Or
RSEQ Finalists
For the first time since 2013, the Rouge et Or is finally back at the U SPORTS national championship. Led by head coach Samir Ghrib for a 21th season in a row (Ghrib is, in fact, the only head coach in the history of the club), Laval recorded its best regular season since 2012 with 27 points (8-1-3), good for the second position in the RSEQ.
Laval punched their ticket for the U SPORTS Championship in dramatic fashion, beating the reigning national champion, the UQTR Patriotes, 2-1 during the RSEQ semifinal. Down one man for almost 60 minutes, Wassim Chaouki scored an historic goal during the overtime to secure the Rouge et Or a trip to the U SPORTS national championship for the ninth time in its history.
Guelph Gryphons
OUA Champions
Fresh off their third OUA championship in program history, the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team will be looking to make a little more history this week in Ottawa when they head to the 2021 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship hosted by the Carleton Ravens.
Trying to claim their first-ever men's soccer national title, the Gryphons will take part in the first quarterfinal of the tournament Thursday morning when they battle the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) runners-up, the Saint Mary's Huskies at 11am.
Winning three straight incredibly tense playoff matches, Guelph's squad showed plenty of poise and composer during their run to the 2021 Blackwood Cup. After fending off the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in penalty kicks, the Gryphons then defeated the No. 3-nationally ranked (at the time) Carleton Ravens, 1-0, before taking down the No. 2-nationally ranked York Lions 3-2 in the final.
Victoria Vikes
CW Finalists
The University of Victoria men’s soccer team begins the quest for a U SPORTS national title after posting a runner-up finish at the Canada West Championships, Nov. 7. The Vikes sit at 8-4-3 on the season after finishing the regular season at 6-3-3.
On the offensive, Ian Whibley leads the Vikes, having tallied eight goals so far this season. Isaac Koch, a 2021 Canada West First Team All-Star, sits closely behind with seven on the year.
Unbeaten through the first four games of the regular season (2-0-2), the Vikes suffered their first set back to Thompson Rivers, Sept. 24. The Vikes then went on a three-game win streak, allowing just one goal over those three games (W at TWU, 5-1, W at TWU, 3-0, W at UBCO, 1-0). The Vikes claimed first place in the Canada West’s West Division with a 2-0 win over UBC, Oct. 22.
Saint Mary’s Huskies
AUS Finalists
This year's Huskies team truly embodied a 'never give up attitude', battling back from losing their first two matches of the regular season to make it all the way to the AUS Championship game, with four come-from-behind victories along the way.
After a challenging start, the Huskies battled back to a 6-3-3 record, advancing to the AUS finals after defeating the UPEI Panthers and the top-seeded StFX X-Men.
The Huskies attack was led by first-year forward Sean Freeman (Halifax, N.S.), who finished fourth in the league in both goals (7) and points (12) and was named a second-team AUS All-Star.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 18 (Quarterfinals)
- Saint Mary’s vs. Guelph, 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT
- Victoria vs. Montreal, 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT
- Laval vs. Cape Breton, 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT
- UBC vs. Carleton, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT
Digital coverage can be accessed on cbcsports.ca the free CBC Gem streaming service and the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices.