Brian Swane, Special to Canada West
EDMONTON – The Alberta Golden Bears might want to beef up security for their trip to Vancouver this weekend, because everyone at the 2017 Canada West men's soccer Final Four is coming for them.
It's been that way all season for the defending Canada West and U SPORTS champs, who haven't been able to let their guard down for a second since winning the titles last fall.
"It's hard to get away from it, because any write-up on the game, we get billed as the defending national champions, even though that was fully a year ago and the teams change from year to year in university-level soccer game," says Golden Bears coach Len Vickery.
With Alberta joining a trio of British Columbia schools at Final Four, the Golden Bears will be on enemy turf the moment they cross the Rockies in advance of this weekend's action.
Semifinals take place Friday at UBC's Thunderbird Stadium, where Alberta meets the Trinity Western Spartans at 5 p.m. PDT, followed at 7:30 p.m. by the host T-Birds taking on the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack. Saturday's schedule sees the bronze medal match take place at Ken Woods Field at 5 p.m. PDT, with the gold medal game getting underway at 8 p.m. PDT at Thunderbird Stadium.
All games can be seen live on Canada West TV.
Thompson Rivers, which is hosting the 2017 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops Nov. 9-12, is already assured a spot at nationals, while the remaining top highest-finishing sides at Canada West Final Four will also qualify.
The Golden Bears, who topped UBC 2-1 on penalty-kicks in last season's thrilling Canada West gold medal match at Foote Field in Edmonton, are looking to win the program's 12th conference title and repeat as Canada West champs for the first time since doing so in 1998 and 1999.
"They're certainly capable, but whereas last year they were perhaps a bit of an unknown commodity, this year they're the team to beat, and any of the teams we're going to see from here on in are going to produce their best to get a performance and a result against us," Vickery says.
Having their names circled on the calendar of every opponent has only sharpened the resolve of the veteran Bears, who returned a large part of their 2016 roster this season. Alberta finished atop the Prairie Division standings with a 9-1-4 record, while scoring the most (36) and allowing the fewest (9) goals in Canada West.
"Our players want to produce like the team did last fall, so we've set a high standard for ourselves, and we're trying to produce that standard week in and week out," Vickery says. "We don't always do it, but the process is there and that helps from week to week to get some decent results, and even though we've had a loss and a few ties, it's now actually working in our favour (having) the targets on our back."
The Canada West post-season got underway last weekend with a quarter-final round that only served to increase anticipation for the always-exciting Final Four.
"It's exciting for the spectator public to have four must-win quarter-finals," says Vickery.
"[I]t's a very intense game, and with those four teams that are victorious coming together at one single site for Final Four, the intensity just increases."
Click here for the CW MSOC Final Four program
SEMIFINAL 1: TWU vs. ALB
Friday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. PDT
Thunderbird Stadium
There's no shortage of intrigue in this rematch of a tremendous 2016 Canada West semifinal that saw Alberta score in double-overtime on a header by Ajay Khabra to squeak past TWU 1-0. The Golden Bears may have lost just once in their 14 regular season matches, but that lone blemish came at the hands of the TWU Spartans, who defeated Alberta 2-0 in Edmonton on Sept. 23. The Spartans had an 8-4-4 regular season record, finishing second to UBC in the Pacific Division standings.
These are the top two offensive teams in the conference, with Alberta scoring more than 2.5 goals per contest and the Spartans averaging just under 2, while the Golden Bears' 243 shots second only to the 256 by TWU. Alberta's attack features explosive forward Ajeej Sarkaria, Canada West's co-leader in goals (8), points (17), and shots (49). In quarter-final matches last Saturday, Alberta recorded a 3-0 home victory over UNBC, while TWU exploded for five first-half goals, including four in a span of a dozen minutes, on the way to a 6-2 defeat of Calgary at Chase Office Field in Langley.
SEMIFINAL 2: TRU vs. UBC
Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. PDT
Thunderbird Stadium
The upstart WolfPack are making their Canada West Final Four debut after winning a quarter-final for the first time in program history last Friday when they scored four unanswered goals to stun the Saskatchewan Huskies 5-1 in Saskatoon. By contrast, UBC, which defeated Mount Royal 2-1 at Thunderbird Stadium in a quarter-final on Friday, is accustomed to playing soccer in November, with more Canada West men's soccer titles (16) than any other school.
The T-Birds were the only team to hit double-digit wins in Canada West this season, boasting a 10-4-1 record to place atop the Prairie Division, where TRU finished third after going 6-3-6. Including the regular and post-season, UBC is 7-1 on its home pitch in 2017, though the WolfPack are proving to be road warriors, losing only twice away from Kamloops. The teams met twice during the season, playing to a 2-2 draw at Hillside Stadium on Sept. 3 before UBC won the rematch 3-1, on Oct. 13 in Vancouver. Players to watch include UBC's freshman phenom Victory Shumbusho, who scored seven times in just 10 regular season appearances, and WolfPack forward Mitchell Popadynetz, a dynamic threat with 10 assists (first in Canada West) and 17 points (tied for conference lead).
MEDAL ROUND
Bronze medal game - 5 p.m. PDT at Ken Woods Field
Gold medal game - 8 p.m. PDT at Thunderbird Stadium
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS
2017 CW regular season record: 9-1-4, 1st Prairie Division
2017 record vs. Final Four teams: 1-0-0 vs. UBC, 0-1-0 vs. TWU, 0-0-0 vs. TRU
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2016 / 11
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2016 / 5
2017 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 36 goals, 1st
Defence: 9 goals against, 1st
2017 CW regular season leaders:
Goals: 8 – Ajeej Sarkaria, striker
Assists: 9 – Ajeej Sarkaria, striker
Points: 17 – Ajeej Sarkaria, striker
Wins: 8 – Connor James, keeper
Shutouts: 7 – Connor James, keeper
Key performer:
Connor James
Keeper
4th-year
Edmonton, Alta.
While sophomore Ajeej Sarkaria will be a featured player in this year's Final Four, one of the biggest reasons the Bears could repeat as conference and national champions is keeper Connor James. James led the conference in goals against, goals against average, and shutouts in 2017, establishing himself as one of the elite stoppers in Canada West. James, the Bears team captain, also set the conference record for career shutouts earlier in the season, and another strong weekend could give Alberta their first back-to-back set of CW titles since 1998/1999.
UBC THUNDERBIRDS
2017 CW regular season record: 10-4-1, 1st Pacific Division
2017 record vs. Final Four teams: 1-1-0 vs. TWU, 1-0-1 vs. TRU, 0-1-0 vs. ALB
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2015 / 16
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2013 / 13
2017 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 30 goals, 3rd
Defence: 11 goals against, 3rd
2017 CW regular season leaders:
Goals: 7 – Victory Shumbusho, forward
Assists: 5 – Patrick Izett, midfielder
Points: 8 – Patrick Izett, midfielder
Wins: 9 – Chad Bush, goalkeeper
Shutouts: 6 – Chad Bush, goalkeeper
Key performer:
Victory Shumbusho
Forward
1st-year
Chilliwack, B.C.
Joining the Thunderbirds from the Vancouver Whitecaps residency program, Shumbusho had one of the most impressive rookie performances in recent memory. He led UBC in goals with seven, tied for the third most in the Canada West. Shumbusho finished the regular season with two game winning goals and finished tied for second in team scoring.
THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY WOLFPACK
2017 CW regular season record: 6-3-6, 3rd Pacific Division
2017 record vs. Final Four teams: 0-0-0 vs. Alberta, 0-1-1 vs. UBC, 0-2-2 vs. TWU
Last CW championship total CW championships: /
Last U SPORTS championship total U SPORTS championships: /
2017 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 27 goals, 4th
Defence: 21 goals against, 10th
2017 CW regular season leaders:
Goals: 7 – Mitchell Popadynetz, midfielder
Assists: 10 – Mitchell Popadynetz, midfielder
Points: 17 – Mitchell Popadynetz, midfielder
Wins: 3 – Lubmomir Magdolen, keeper
Shutouts: 3 – Lubmomir Magdolen, keeper
Key performer:
Mitch Popadynetz
Midfielder
4th-year
Nelson, B.C.
Popadynetz had a breakout 2017 regular season. After playing in the the PDL this summer, the native of Nelson, BC took the Canada West by storm, leading the the league in assists (10), and was tied for first in overall points (17).
TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY SPARTANS
2017 CW regular season record: 8-4-4, 2nd in Pacific Division
2017 record vs. Final Four teams: 1-0-0 vs. Alberta, 1-1-0 vs. UBC, 0-0-2 vs. TRU
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2007 / 3
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: Highest finish - 2nd in 2008
2017 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 31 goals, 2nd
Defence: 16 goals against, 4th
2017 CW regular season leaders:
Goals: 6 – Leighton Johnson, Forward
Assists: 6 – Leighton Johnson, Forward
Points: 12 – Leighton Johnson, Forward
Wins: 8 – Sebastian Colyn, Goalkeeper
Shutouts: 5 – Sebastian Colyn, Goalkeeper
Key performer:
Joel Waterman
Midfielder
4th-year
Aldergrove, B.C.
Since returning from an injury midway through the season, Joel Waterman has been the Spartans best player and has become one of the most dangerous offensive players in Canada West. The fourth-year midfielder scored five goals in eight games during the regular season before putting together a three-point night, including a goal and two assists, in TWU's 6-2 Canada West Quarter-Final win over Calgary. Waterman has been named his team's game MVP In in seven of TWU's last eight outings, including their postseason victory over the Dinos. The Spartans are now 6-2-1 since Waterman returned to the lineup, which includes a 2-0 win over semifinal foe Alberta that saw the TWU midfielder tally a brilliant goal to spark the Spartans to the victory.