Redmen as good a bet as anyone at CIS men's soccer championship

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Redmen as good a bet as anyone at CIS men's soccer championship

Published: 10 November 2009

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OTTAWA (CIS) - There are no clear favourites heading into this week's CIS men's soccer championship in Langley, B.C., as for the eighth year in a row the reigning Sam Davidson memorial trophy winners won't be on site to defend their title.

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The 40th annual tournament, hosted by the Trinity Western University Spartans for the first time since they joined CIS in 2001, gets under way Thursday with the quarter-final round. The semifinals follow on Friday, while the bronze-medal game and national final are set for Sunday at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time, respectively.

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SSN Canada will have live webcasts of all main-bracket duels ( or ).

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New champions will be crowned on Sunday as the York Lions, who edged Trinity Western 1-0 in last year's national final, were eliminated in the OUA quarter-finals on Halloween day. The curse of the Davidson trophy continues as the last team to return to defend the CIS title was the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, who captured back-to-back banners in 2000 and 2001.

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The Spartans are one of only three teams returning from the 2008 CIS tournament along with the Canada West champion Victoria Vikes and Quebec champion Laval Rouge et Or. Laval was fourth at the 2008 championship held in Ottawa, while Victoria tied for seventh place.

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Joining the trio on the west coast this week are the OUA champion McMaster Marauders, AUS champion Cape Breton Capers, OUA finalist Toronto Varsity Blues, AUS finalist UPEI Panthers, and QSSF finalist McGill Redmen.

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Thursday's quarterfinal round will see Laval meet UPEI at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time, Victoria battle Toronto at 1 p.m., McMaster square off with McGill at 3:30 p.m., and Trinity Western face Cape Breton at 6:30 p.m.

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Of the 2009 participants, Victoria comes in with the most impressive CIS championship resume. The Vikes have reached six finals and claimed four Davidson trophies since the inaugural tournament was held in 1970, their most recent triumph coming in 2004 in Montreal.

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This fall, Victoria was in a four-way dogfight all season with Trinity Western, UBC and Alberta in the ultra-competitive Canada West. The Vikes finished conference play in third place with an 8-5-1 record before capturing their second straight CWUAA banner with a 2-1 semifinal win over the Spartans and a 3-2 penalty-kick victory over Alberta in the gold-medal match.

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"We put a lot of things together in the last three weeks. We gave very few goals away and played well as a team," said 23-year UVic head coach Bruce Wilson following the West final. "I honestly thought we deserved the win today. When you go to penalties, you have to have people with confidence and that is where our seniors really stepped up."

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The Spartans, whose appearance in last year's CIS final was the second in program history (2006), didn't quite finish the Canada West schedule the way they wanted to. After spending most of the season near the top of the national rankings and even sitting at No. 1 for three weeks, Trinity Western ended league play with a loss and a draw before going 0-2 at the conference Final Four.

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The Spartans hope the magic of the Canada West hosts will operate once more. In the 40-year history of the CIS championship, the host team has won seven of the 10 tournaments played out west including the last two, at UBC in 2007 and Alberta in 2006.

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The hottest team heading into the 2009 championship is without a doubt the Cinderella McMaster Marauders. After ending the regular season with a 3-0 loss to Waterloo for a less than stellar 6-7-1 conference record, McMaster racked up four straight playoff victories in penalty kicks, including a 1-0 win over nationally top-ranked Toronto in the final, en route to the school's first OUA title since 1992.

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Despite the OUA gold-medal loss, Toronto enjoyed a stellar season. The Varsity Blues, whose lone CIS title dates back to 1988, had won 11 straight games and were undefeated in 13 before running into red-hot McMaster.

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Quebec champion Laval is another team heading into this week's tournament with momentum. The Rouge et Or, whose best result at the CIS event is an appearance in the 2007 final against UBC, are undefeated in 11 games (9-0-2) since a 1-2 start to the regular season, including a convincing 3-0 shutout of McGill in the QSSF final.

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"I'm really happy with the result. I feel we really have one of the best teams, in all facets of the game," Laval head coach Samir Ghrib said following the gold-medal match. "To win the Quebec conference really sets the tone for the CIS championship."

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The Redmen caused a major upset in the QSSF semis blanking perennial powerhouse, No. 4 Montreal on the road to book their ticket to Langley. McGill has won three national titles, their most recent, in 1997, being the last one by a Quebec team.

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Both AUS champion Cape Breton and finalist UPEI vie to become the first Atlantic team since Dalhousie in 1995 to hoist the Davidson trophy.

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The Capers were the cream of the crop in the Atlantic this fall. After opening conference play with a 1-0 loss to Dalhousie back on Sept. 12, they went 11-0-3 the rest of the way including a thrilling OT win over UPEI for their second AUS banner in three years.

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In their only previous CIS tourney appearance in 2007, the Capers dropped their two duels to finish in a tie for seventh place.

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The Panthers really earned their trip to the west coast. After finishing fourth in the league standings, they needed penalty kicks to get by StFX in the first round of the AUS Final Six and then pulled off a huge upset win in the semis, outscoring nationally eighth-ranked Dalhousie 4-3.

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For all the info on the 2009 CIS men's soccer championship: .

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TEAM PROFILES

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Canada West champions: Victoria Vikes

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Head Coach: Bruce Wilson (23rd season)

2008 regular season record: 8-5-1

2008 regular season standing: 3rd Canada West

2008 playoff record: 2-0

2008 playoff finish: Canada West champions

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): No. 9

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 2 (1 week - 4th poll)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 8

Conference award winners: none

Conference 1st team all-stars: Cole McFarlane (S), Sam Wingham (M)

Conference 2nd team all-stars: Dan Kilpatrick (G), Bobby Eng (FB)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 13th on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time record: 14-9-3 on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time medals: 8 on record (4 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship best result: 4-time champions (2004, 1996, 1987, 1975)

CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (Tied 7th)

CIS championship sequence: 2nd straight appearance

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OUA champions: McMaster Marauders

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Head Coach: Dino Perri (2nd season)

2009 regular season record: 6-7-1

2009 regular season standing: 5th OUA West

2009 playoff record: 4-0

2009 playoff finish: OUA champions

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): Unranked

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): Unranked all season

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 0

Conference award winners (OUA West): none

Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA West): none

Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA West): Garret McConville (D), Kyle Grootenboer (M)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 6th on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time record: 5-6-1 on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time medals: 3 on record (2 silver, 1 bronze) (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship best result: 2-time finalists (1992, 1991)

CIS championship last appearance: 2000 (Tied 5th)

CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 2000

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QSSF champions: Laval Rouge et Or

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Head Coach: Samir Ghrib (10th season)

2008 regular season record: 8-2-2

2008 regular season standing: 1st QSSF

2008 playoff record: 2-0

2008 playoff finish: QSSF champions

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): No. 6

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 4 (2 weeks / first 2 polls)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 4

Conference award winners: Samir Ghrib (coach of the year)

Conference 1st team all-stars: Alexandre L茅vesque-Tremblay (D), Gabriel Moreau (S)

Conference 2nd team all-stars: Vincent Cournoyer (G), Marc-Olier Boudreau-Daigle (D), Guillaume Salamin (M), Louis-Charles Lalibert茅 (S)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 5th (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005)

CIS championship all-time record: 4-7-0

CIS championship all-time medals: 1 (1 silver)

CIS championship best result: 1-time finalists (2007)

CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (4th)

CIS championship sequence: 5th straight appearance

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AUS champions: Cape Breton Capers

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Head Coach: Robbie Chiasson (5th season)

2009 regular season record: 9-1-3

2009 regular season standing: 1st AUS

2009 playoff record: 2-0

2009 playoff finish: AUS champions

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): No. 3

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 3 (1 week - last poll)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 2

Conference award winners: Andrew Rigby (MVP)

Conference 1st team all-stars: Keishen Bean (S), Andrew Rigby (M),

Conference 2nd team all-stars: Shayne Hollis (S), Jason Davis (M), Antonio Lowe (FB)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 2nd (2009, 2007)

CIS championship all-time record: 0-2-0

CIS championship all-time medals: 0

CIS championship best result: Tied 7th (2007)

CIS championship last appearance: 2007 (Tied 7th)

CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 2007, 2nd in 3 years

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OUA finalists: Toronto Varsity Blues

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Head Coach: Anthony Capotosto (3rd season)

2009 regular season record: 11-1-2

2009 regular season standing: 1st OUA East

2009 playoff record: 2-1

2009 playoff finish: OUA finalists

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): No. 1

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 1 (1 week - last poll)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 8

Conference award winners (OUA East): none

Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA East): Dylan Bams (M), Yannis Gianniotis (D), Alex Raphael (S)

Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA East): Mario Nallira (M), Nordo Gooden (S), John Smits (G)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 11th on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time record: 8-13-1 on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time medals: 3 on record (1 gold, 2 silver) (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship best result: 1-time champions (1988)

CIS championship last appearance: 2006 (Tied 7th)

CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 2006, 4th in 6 years

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QSSF finalists: McGill Redmen

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Head Coach: David Simon (1st season)

2009 regular season record: 6-3-3

2009 regular season standing: 3rd QSSF

2009 playoff record: 1-1

2009 playoff finish: QSSF finalists

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): Unranked

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): Unranked all season

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 0

Conference award winners: none

Conference 1st team all-stars: Yohann Capolungo (M), Gareth Pugh (S)

Conference 2nd team all-stars: Graeme Tingey (D)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 21st

CIS championship all-time record: 16-21-5

CIS championship all-time medals: 7 (3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

CIS championship best result: 3-time champions (1997, 1982, 1981)

CIS championship last appearance: 2004 (finalists)

CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 2004

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AUS finalists: UPEI Panthers

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Head Coach: Lewis Page (10th season)

2009 regular season record: 8-5-0

2009 regular season standing: 4th AUS

2009 playoff record: 2-1

2009 playoff finish: AUS finalists

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): Unranked

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 6 (1 week - 8th poll)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 5

Conference award winners: Lewis Page (coach of the year)

Conference 1st team all-stars: Jimmie Mayaleh (S), Nathan Snowie (FB)

Conference 2nd team all-stars: none

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 7th on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time record: 2-8-0 on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship all-time medals: 0 on record (CIS records incomplete)

CIS championship best result: 3-times tied 3rd (1985, 1984, 1983: went 0-1, no bronze game)

CIS championship last appearance: 2005 (4th)

CIS championship sequence: 1st appearance since 2005

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CIS championship hosts: Trinity Western Spartans

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Head Coach: Pat Rohla (1st season)

2008 regular season record: 8-2-4

2008 regular season standing: 2nd Canada West

2008 playoff record: 0-2

2008 playoff finish: 4th Canada West

Final Top 10 ranking (Nov. 3): No. 5

Best Top 10 ranking (10 weeks): No. 1 (3 weeks - 5th, 6th, 7th polls)

Number of weeks in Top 10 (10 weeks): 10

Conference award winners: Paul Hamilton (MVP)

Conference 1st team all-stars: Nathan Pogue (S), Paul Hamilton (FB)

Conference 2nd team all-stars: Jordan Whitehead (M)

CIS championship appearances (including 2009): 5th (2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005)

CIS championship all-time record: 8-4-0

CIS championship all-time medals: 3 (2 silver, 1 bronze)

CIS championship best result: 2-time finalists (2008, 2006)

CIS championship last appearance: 2008 (finalists)

CIS championship sequence: 5th straight appearance

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SAM DAVIDSON MEMORIAL TROPHY CHAMPIONS

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2008 York (at Carleton)

2007 UBC (at UBC)

2006 Alberta (at Alberta)

2005 UBC (at UPEI)

2004 Victoria (at Montreal / McGill)

2003 Alberta (at Montreal / McGill)

2002 Brock (at Carleton)

2001 Laurier (at Saint Mary's)

2000 Laurier (at McMaster)

1999 Western (at Victoria)

1998 Western (at McGill)

1997 McGill (at Dalhousie)

1996 Victoria (at York)

1995 Dalhousie (at UQTR)

1994 UBC (at UBC)

1993 Sherbrooke (at Acadia)

1992 UBC (at Guelph)

1991 UBC (at Queen's)

1990 UBC (at Guelph)

1989 UBC (at UBC)

1988 Toronto (at UBC)

1987 Victoria (at McGill)

1986 UBC (at Toronto)

1985 UBC (at UBC)

1984 UBC (at Carleton)

1983 Laurentian (at Laurentian)

1982 McGill (at McGill)

1981 McGill (at Alberta)

1980 UNB (at UNB)

1979 Alberta (at Alberta)

1978 Manitoba (at Concordia)

1977 York (at Waterloo)

1976 Concordia (at Concordia)

1975 Victoria (at Victoria)

1974 UBC (at Concordia)

1973 Loyola (at Memorial)

1972 Alberta (at York)

1971 Laurentian

1970 Memorial

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CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times PACIFIC TIME)

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Wednesday, Nov. 11

18:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet

Thursday, Nov. 12
10:30 Quarter-final 1: Laval vs. UPEI (SSN Canada webcast)
13:00 Quarter-final 2: Victoria vs. Toronto (SSN Canada webcast)
15:30 Quarter-final 3: McMaster vs. McGill (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Quarter-final 4: Cape Breton vs. Trinity Western (SSN Canada webcast)

Friday, Nov. 13
10:30 Consolation 1: Loser QF 1 vs. Loser QF 2
13:00 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4
16:00 Semifinal 1: Winner QF 1 vs. Winner QF 2 (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (SSN Canada webcast)

Saturday, Nov. 14
13:00 Consolation final (5th-place match)

Sunday, Nov. 15
13:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
15:30 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)

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- CIS -

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For more information please contact:

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Scott Stewart

Sports Information Director

Trinity Western University

Ph: (604) 513-2123

Cell: (604) 764-1533

ssstew [at] twu.ca

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