The York Lions men’s soccer team is gearing up for the biggest weekend of the season in Ottawa this week – the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s soccer championship. The Lions will open play against the Victoria Vikes at 9am, Thursday, at Carleton University in a game that will be broadcast on the Streaming Sports Network.
York comes into the game as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) silver medallists after a tough 1-0 overtime loss to the Laurier Golden Hawks in the OUA final. Meanwhile, the Vikes are the Canada West champions, a title they earned by knocking off the Trinity Western Spartans 4-1 last weekend. In the regular season, the Lions finished with a 9-4-1 record, first in the OUA West division, while the Vikes were 9-2-3 for top spot in the Canada West standings.
The Lions won their only CIS men’s soccer championship more than 30 years ago (1977) but came close again last year finishing in fourth place. Victoria last won the national title in 2004, the fourth in team history, and is making its first appearance at the championship since that year.
The winner of the quarter-final match will face either the Dalhousie Tigers or the Montreal Carabins in the semis. In the other half of the draw, Laurier will battle against Trinity Western while the Laval Rouge et Or will take on the host Carleton Ravens.
A new champion will be crowned this year as the defending CIS champion UBC Thunderbirds were upset by Trinity Western in the Canada West semifinals last weekend.
Championship Schedule
Thursday, Nov. 6
9am – Quarter-final #1: Victoria vs. York*
11:30am – Quarter-final #2: Dalhousie vs. Montreal*
2pm – Quarter-final #3: Laurier vs. Trinity Western*
4:30pm – Quarter-final #4: Laval vs. Carleton*
8pm – All-Canadian Banquet
Friday, Nov. 7
11am – Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2
1:30pm – Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4
Saturday, Nov. 8
11:30am – 5th place game
2pm – Semifinal #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2*
4:30pm – Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4*
Sunday, Nov. 9
Noon – Bronze medal game*
3pm – Championship final*
* Live video Web cast on SSN Canada