OTTAWA (CIS) – The schedule and quarter-final matchups were announced Sunday evening for the 27th CIS women’s soccer championship which kicks off Thursday in Toronto.
The eight-team tournament, hosted for the second time by the University of Toronto, runs until next Sunday with the national final scheduled for 4:30 p.m. All 11 games from the competition will be webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv.
The reigning champion Trinity Western Spartans will make the trip to Ontario to defend their title after qualifying as Canada West conference silver medallists. Should they triumph next weekend, the Spartans would tie UBC’s record of five Gladys Bean Memorial Trophies overall.
Also competing for the CIS banner at Varsity Stadium will be the Alberta Pandas (Canada West champions), Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (OUA champs), Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champs), Cape Breton Capers (AUS champs), Western Mustangs (OUA finalists), Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalists), as well as the tourney host Toronto Varsity Blues.
Trinity Western, which lost in overtime to Alberta in Saturday’s Canada West final, has dominated CIS women’s soccer over the last half-decade with three national titles in the past five seasons, including a victory on kicks over Queen’s in last year’s gold-medal game in Victoria. The only previous time the CIS tournament was held at the U of T, in 2009, the powerhouse from Langley, B.C., had also claimed the banner thanks to a win on PKs.
The Spartans begin their title defence Thursday at 4:30 p.m. against Laurier in the third contest of opening day. The other quarter-finals will see Montreal battle Western at 11 a.m., Alberta take on Laval at 1:30 p.m., and Cape Breton square off against host Toronto at 7 p.m.
Four of this year’s contenders have hoisted the Gladys Been Trophy in the past, including the Spartans (2012, 2009, 2008, 2004), Pandas (2001, 1997, 1989), Golden Hawks (1995, 1992) and Capers (2007).
NOTES: A complete championship preview will follow Tuesday... The CIS individual awards and all-Canadians will be announced on Wednesday night.
Official championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wsoc/index
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Cape Breton Capers (AUS champions: 9-0-4 regular season / 2-0
playoffs)
Montreal Carabins (RSEQ champions: 11-1-2 regular season / 2-0
playoffs)
Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (OUA champions: 9-3-4 regular season /
3-0 playoffs)
Alberta Pandas (Canada West champions: 9-1-2 regular season / 3-0
playoffs)
Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalists: 9-3-2 regular season / 1-1
playoffs)
Western Mustangs (OUA finalists: 11-0-5 regular season / 2-1
playoffs)
Trinity Western Spartans (Canada West finalists: 8-1-3 regular
season / 2-1 playoffs)
Toronto Varsity Blues (Hosts: 10-3-3 regular season / 0-1
playoffs)
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Nov. 6
18:30 All-Canadian Awards Banquet (Marriott Bloor
Yorkville Hotel)
Thursday, Nov. 7
11:00 Quarter-final 1: Montreal vs. Western (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Quarter-final 2: Alberta vs. Laval (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Quarter-final 3: Wilfrid Laurier vs. Trinity Western (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: Cape Breton vs. Toronto (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, Nov. 8
13:30 Consolation 1: Loser QF 1 vs. Loser QF 2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, Nov. 9
13:30 Semifinal 1: Winner QF 1 vs. Winner QF 2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 10
11:00 5th-place game (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Bronze medal (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:30 Championship final (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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