VANCOUVER - The hard charging and no. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds play host to three of their fiercest rivals in this weekend's Canada West Championship with just one spot up for grabs at the 2009 CIS Men's Soccer Championship scheduled for November 12-15 in Langley.
The T-Birds welcome the Trinity Western Spartans, Victoria Vikes, and Alberta Golden Bears to Thunderbird Park with the T-Birds, Vikes, and Bears battling for a spot alongside the host Spartans at the CIS Tournament. With TWU already qualified, the other CW spot goes to this weekend's top finisher other than the Langley-based school.
The final four style competition kicks off Friday with the Spartans and Vikes in the first semi-final at 5:00 p.m., followed by the T-Birds and Golden Bears at 7:30 p.m.
The medal games follow the same schedule on Saturday with the bronze up for grabs at 5:00 p.m. and the gold medal contest scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
Below is a snapshot preview of the four teams in action this weekend.
UBC Thunderbirds (10-3-1)
National Ranking: 2
Key Players:
Graham Smith,
Nikolai Matni,
Devin Gunenc,
Tyson Keam
Unlike the other three final four teams the Thunderbirds faced an uphill battle during the regular season. UBC dropped it's first two games on the road in Alberta and Saskatchewan before climbing back into contention with four straight wins. A 2-1 setback at Trinity Western served as motivation for the T-Birds who proceeded to win an impressive six straight matches, the longest such streak in the conference, without conceding a goal. A draw at Lethbridge in the season finale sealed the top seed and hosting rights for the Canada West final four.
Defence has been the focus for the T-Birds throughout the season and it showed as they led the league in goals against, conceding only seven en route to shutting out their opponents a Canada West best nine times.
Nikolai Matni led all Canada West keepers in goals against (0.50) and save percentage (0.882) as well as tying for the conference lead in shutouts with five despite making just eight starts as he shared net protecting duties with the equally impressive Elliot Usher. Matni's success can be attributed, in part, to perhaps the most formidable back line in the conference. Two-time All-Canadian
Graham Smith anchors the defence with help from an impressive supporting cast
Matt Allard,
Jason Gill,
Joey Loreth and rookie
Will Hyde.
Offensively, what
Mike Mosher's side lacked in potency it made up for in consistency. The T-Birds ranked third in the conference with 19 goals for but were only blanked once, in their season opener. In contrast to the other Canada West playoff teams the UBC attack is run through the midfield where 2008 Canada West Rookie of the Year,
Devin Gunenc and the relentless
Tyson Keam promise to be a handful for opposing defences. Each equally important to the UBC attack, Gunenc and Keam also tied for the team lead in goals with four apiece.
Visitors have found Thunderbird Park an inhospitable environment as the T-Birds have yet to concede a goal on home turf. As a result, the Thunderbirds were unbeatable at home this season registering a perfect 7-0-0 record. UBC was 4-2-0 against the other final four participants and split the season series with semi-final opponent Alberta 1-1 with each side notching a 1-0 home victory.
Trinity Western Spartans (8-2-4)
National Ranking: 5
Key players: Nathan Pogue, Andrew Fink, Ioannis Tsoulouhas, Paul Hamilton
Trinity Western enter the playoffs on a low note after faltering in their final regular season weekend. The Spartans, who were on top of the Canada West table for much of the season, dropped a surprising decision to last place Lethbridge on Saturday then followed the next day by drawing Calgary 0-0. It was only the second time all season they failed to score a goal.
The Spartans boast an emabrassment of riches at forward led by Canada West goal-scoring leader, Nathan Pogue, who found the net nine teams during the season. Pogue is supported by David Rowse who added four goals and Ioannis Tsoulouhas who finished second in the Canada West with four assists while adding two goals. On defence All-Canadian Paul Hamilton runs the back line while Jason Wiens is a threat on corners after tallying four goals. In net, Andrew Fink was fourth in the conference in both goals against (0.78) and save percentage (.837), registering one clean sheet in the process.
TWU did not fair as well on the road as compared to their home turf, where they were undefeated, posting a reasonable record of 3-2-2 away from Langley. They sport a 4-1-1 record versus the other three final four teams, defeating each at least once, including a perfect 2-0 record versus their semi-final opponent, Victoria.
While finding their form will be key for Trinity Western there is not as as much on the line for the Spartans this weekend as they host the 2009 CIS National Championships November 12-15 and are assured a berth.
Victoria Vikes (8-5-1)
National Ranking: 9
Key Players: Cole McFarlane, Jordie Oberg, Dan Kilpatrick, Patrick Nelson
Victoria had an up-and-down season that began promisingly but decayed as the season went on. A trio of one-goal losses, culminating in a 1-0 defeat at home to Fraser Valley, had the Vikes moving in the wrong direction on the Canada West table during the year. The Vikes showed resiliency over their final three matches posting three consecutive clean sheets to claim the third seed for the playoffs.
Victoria are led by 2008 Canada West Player of the Year, Cole McFarlane, whose goal scoring prowess was on display once again this season as his seven tallies were good enough for second in the conference. McFarlane is supported by Jordie Oberg who chipped in five goals of his own placing him just one spot behind his teammate among the conference leaders.
If 2008 Canada West Coach of the Year, Bruce Wilson, is going to get his team back to the nationals he'll need his second ranked offence to stay hot and his fourth-ranked defence to stand tall. Wilson will rely primarily on veteran fifth-year goalkeeper Dan Kilpatrick to keep his side in contention. Kilpatrick was the busiest of all Canada West keepers this season facing 6.29 shots per game while ranking third in save percentage (0.863) and fifth in goals against (1.00). He also tied for the most clean sheets in the conference with five. Helping thwart the opposing attack is fourth-year defender Patrick Nelson who, along with his keeper, were both 2008 second-team Canada West all-stars.
Victoria did not fair well against the other three final four squads during the regular season managing just one win and en route to a 1-4-1 record. Working for the Vikes, however, is that they were the most successful road team posting a 4-2-1 record away from Centennial Stadium. The Vikes had little success against semi-final opponent Trinity Western, however, dropping both contests while being outscored by a combined 5-1.
Alberta Golden Bears (7-3-4)
National Ranking: NR
Key players: Jaswinder Gill, Brett Colvin, Kevin Perry, Harman Braich
Alberta had a promising start to the season going undefeated through their first eight games before dropping back-to-back matches versus ranked opponents TWU and UBC. The Golden Bears were able to regain their form in the final weekend with a confidence-building home-and-home sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies by identical 2-1 margins.
The Golden Bears' success is driven by the play in their own end where they are led by goalkeeping standout Jaswinder Gill, who was among the stingier keepers in the Canada West finishing second in save percentage (0.870) and third in goals against (0.70). Gill is helped by a reliable back line anchored by 2008 Canada West first team all-star Harman Braich who, along with Gill, was a major reason why Alberta ranked second in goals against in the Canada West allowing just nine.
The Bears defence will have to be impenetrable as their attack is not as potent as the other squads in the final four. Goals were at a premium for the Bears as they tallied just 15 times during the regular season. Nonetheless forwards Brett Colvin and Kevin Perry promise to be dangerous combining for seven of Alberta's 15 goals.
The Golden Bears faired well on the road managing a 4-3-0 record away from Foote Field in a conference that was unkind to visitors. Alberta split their season series with semi-final opponent, UBC, with each side claiming a 1-0 victory while playing the role of host.
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