CIS 2006 Soccer Nationals

[EZmac]

Figure I should start a new tread.

(November 6, 2006) OTTAWA (CIS) – The Montreal Carabins enter this week’s CIS men’s soccer championship in Edmonton as the only undefeated team in the nation and the first obstacle between the Quebec champions and an unbeaten 2006 season will be the Toronto Varsity Blues on Thursday.

Championship web site: www.universitysport.ca/e/championships/m_soccer/2006/

The University of Alberta hosts the 2006 CIS tournament from Nov. 9-12. The eight-team, single-elimination competition gets under way Thursday with the quarter-final match-ups and culminates on Sunday with the national final scheduled for 1 p.m. Mountain Time.

The CIS major award winners and all-Canadians will be unveiled Friday night.

New CIS champions will be crowned in Edmonton as 2005 Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy winner UBC lost in the Canada West semi-finals and failed to earn a ticket to Alberta’s capital.

Montreal, 9-0-3 in the regular season - 11-0-3 overall - this fall, blanked the Laval Rouge et Or 1-0 on Sunday to claim its fourth consecutive QSSF title, its second straight over Laval. The OUA finalist Varsity Blues will prove a tough first-round opponent Thursday at 10 a.m. MT, having reached the national final a year ago.

Canada West champion Trinity Western will battle AUS finalist Saint Mary’s in the other morning quarter-final, while Laval will meet Atlantic conference champion UNB at 1 p.m. in one of two afternoon tilts.

The host Alberta Golden Bears will face off against OUA champion Western Ontario in the second 1 p.m. match-up. The Bears were undefeated through regular season play (9-0-5) and were ranked No. 1 in the final two national coaches poll of the campaign but went 0-2 at the Canada West Final Four this weekend.

Note: a complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

AUS champions: UNB Varsity Reds (7-3-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

AUS finalists: Saint Mary’s Huskies (7-3-3 regular season, 2-1 playoffs)

QSSF champions: Montreal Carabins (9-0-3 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

QSSF finalists: Laval Rouge et Or (5-1-6 regular season, 1-1 playoffs)

OUA champions: Western Ontario Mustangs (9-2-3 regular season, 3-0 playoffs)

OUA finalists: Toronto Varsity Blues (8-3-3 regular season, 3-1 playoffs)

Canada West champions: Trinity Western Spartans (7-5-2 regular season, 2-0 playoffs)

Hosts: Alberta Golden Bears (9-0-5 regular season, 0-2 playoffs)

[EZmac]

Predictions anyone?

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL / Mountain Time)

Thursday, Nov. 9

10:00 Quarter-final #1: Trinity Western vs. Saint Mary’s

10:00 Quarter-final #2: Montreal vs. Toronto

13:00 Quarter-final #3: UNB vs. Laval

13:00 Quarter-final #4: Western Ontario vs. Alberta

Friday, Nov. 10

10:00 Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2

13:00 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4

10:00 Semi-final #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2

13:00 Semi-final #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4

18:30 All-Canadian Banquet

Saturday, Nov. 11

13:00 5th place

Sunday, Nov. 12

10:00 Bronze medal

13:00 Championship final

[Soccerpro]

10:00 Quarter-final #1: Trinity Western vs. Saint Mary's

10:00 Quarter-final #2: Montreal vs. Toronto

13:00 Quarter-final #3: UNB vs. Laval

13:00 Quarter-final #4: Western Ontario vs. Alberta

Trinity Western

Montreal

Laval

Alberta

Montreal

Alberta

Montreal

[Soccerpro]

I find it amusing how most of the mens teams list players weights, but not 1 single womens team does. Ditto in U.S colleges.

[rjba814]

Not going to try and pretend i know who will win here but i will warn anyone who is looking at results to consider the incredibly brutal conditions in which the games will be played.

I live in Edmonton and work at Commonwealth Stadium. The field will be cleared but we have had snow, below freezing weather and freezing rain in the last two weeks. Soccer is going to be completely nuts in this weather.

On that note i will try and predict the winners. Alberta TW in the final. Penalty Kicks won by Alberta.

[Soccerpro]

Results

Trinity Western 3 Saint Mary's 1

Montreal 2 Toronto 1 OT

Laval 3 UNB 2

Alberta 2 Western 1 SO

That makes me 4-4 not bad:D Too bad this wasnt college football or I would put the house on it.

[EZmac]

quote:Originally posted by Soccerpro

Results

Trinity Western 3 Saint Mary's 1

Montreal 2 Toronto 1 OT

Laval 3 UNB 2

Alberta 2 Western 1 SO

That makes me 4-4 not bad:D Too bad this wasnt college football or I would put the house on it.

Wow, you posted those fast I came straight home from the stadium and I live 5 minutes away.

[bmac]

Despite the best of intentions...what is that old adage relating to the "road to hell being paved with good intentions"...I did not make it to either Clarke or Foote to watch the opening matches of the CIS Championships.

Cold, crisp day here in Edmonton although bright and sunny.

Going strictly off the web-site I see that both teams from the Martimes and Ontario were eliminated leaving two from Quebec and two from Western Canada.

Trinity Western defeated St. Mary's 3 to 1 this morning at Clarke.

Montreal aparently beat Toronto 2 to 1 in overtime.

This afternoon, Laval dropped UNB 3 to 2 at Clarke.

U of A bested Western 2 to 1 with the designation of SO so I am assuming that game went to penalties after overtime.

Tomorrow's semi-finals are TWU v. Montreal and U. of A. v. Laval.

The Championship web-site shows both games starting at 1:00 at Foote which cannot be correct as I am assuming that they are not using both fields at Foote, i.e. the grass field usually used by the soccer team and the artificial surface that the football team plays on as otherwise there would have been no need to utilize Clarke.

The two losers begin the consolation round at, I am assuming, Clarke.

If both the semi-finals are in fact at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively at Foote I will try to get out and watch them.

Did anyone go to today's matches? Any observations?

[Soccerpro]

Anyone watch any of the games?

[Maxacre]

We played very well against Toronto, shots were 15-1, corners were 6-1. We have to finish our chances if we want to beat Trinity this morning though.

[Soccerpro]

10h0 Saint Mary's 3 Toronto 0

10h0 Trinity Western 2 Montreal 1

13h0 Laval 2 Alberta 0

13h0 UNB 0 Western 1

TWU to win against Laval.

[bmac]

Nope.

You got the Laval-Alberta score reversed.

U of A won 2-O on goals from Alexander Campos in the about the 8th minute on their first shot on goal after a brilliant run by right fullback Eddy Sidra who beat one or two men down the flank took the ball to the line and sent an excellent cross to about the penalty spot that no one could put a head to and Campos collected the ball and sent it past the keeper.

In the second half Quenton Zalazar sent a "wonderstrike" from quite a distance out to secure the victory.

Sunday it will be an all-western final with TWU v. U. of A. and the two Quebec teams playing for bronze.

[Soccerpro]

Oh, I got the scores off the website. The Canada West Conference has really proven over the last few years its the strongest in Canada by far. Different teams, same results. Is Quenton Zalazar that black guy who plays on the wing who refuses to ever touch the ball with his right foot? I hope Alberta loses, just because I lost to them in in double overtime in the CIS final in 2003 hahah.

[EZmac]

Montreal fails to win again.

I'm not at all suprised by the final. Canada West Teams can just deal with the conditions better than anyone else in the country. Its not because they necesarily have better teams its just that they are forced to play in this type of weather for half the season (maybe not this bad.)

My bet: Alberta to win!

[ditty]

quote:Originally posted by Soccerpro

Oh, I got the scores off the website. The Canada West Conference has really proven over the last few years its the strongest in Canada by far. Different teams, same results. Is Quenton Zalazar that black guy who plays on the wing who refuses to ever touch the ball with his right foot? I hope Alberta loses, just because I lost to them in in double overtime in the CIS final in 2003 hahah.

You're thinking of Hilaire Kamdem, a raiding left fullback. Zalazar is possibly the shortest centerback I've ever seen at this level, I think the guy's about 5'5.

[Soccerpro]

Yeah the Western teams are the only teams that play in such brutal conditions. But I think the biggest advantage Canada West has is playing against strong competition week in and week out. All of the other conferences have several teams each which are never competitive. I think this competition really helps in an elimination set up with several games in a row because during their season they can never let up in a game.

[bmac]

Yes, ditty has it right about Hilaire Kamden being on the left flank.

Good games today despite the grey skies and colder wind.

The two Quebec teams, U. de Montreal and Laval played very attractive soccer but lacked finish.

Langley's TWU played the same soccer that they have demonstrated since coming into the CIS. They are not big but they run hard and go for the flick ons and the like.

Usually a 4-4-2.

Hit the ball and pounce on a mistake.

Their first goal by Kekec was a brilliant strike from the left into the top right hand corner of the net. He also scored the second and was clear for a possible third when the whistle went for the end of the 1st half.

U. de M. is a nice side. Nice touches and flair. They played very nice soccer from side to side of the field. However, no finish.

I was looking forward to seeing something from Boubacar Coulibaly. Apart from a five or six minute spell at the beginning of the 2nd half he was "invisible".

Aoun's score came the keeper being hesitant [looked pretty weak during the game] and miscommunication with the back four or six or seven or eight and he flicked into the empty net.

As U. de M. attacked and TWU defended, not a number of clear chances were obtained.

Howwever, on the point of time being over number 9, Naswar Hanna hit a good strike that the TWU keeper handled without any problem....good for him given the conditions and likely condition of the ball.

In the second game of the two semi-finals, Laval seemed to settle down earlier than U. of A. In both games, the teams playing against the wind seemed to do better.

On their first shot of the match Campos put the Golden Bears ahead and in the 2nd dimunitive [i am sure he must HATE that kind of observation] Quenton Zalazar hit a "career goal".

Did Korthuis play the second half? I ask as I do not remember him. He may have been replaced by Zalazar. Very effective in the air directly at him but seemed to be having "footing" issues with the artificial tur. The game was played on the Foote field usually used by the football team.

The Laval squad played some nice soccer.

Particularly impressed by Othmen and #16 [no such number in the program]. The latter is a "prick" leaving a foot in and intentionally standing in the way of someone from U. of A. proceeding....reminds me of some "old fart" aka yours truly trying to get the edge.

The insertion of Salou in the 2nd half added to Montreal's offensive edge. A bit of the proverbial "bull in a China shop". Very strong in the air which up to that point had been dominated by Karmal Prime [terrific 1st half] and Erik Kuhn.

So salut les Quebecois and TWU and U. of A. replay last week's western match.

[bmac]

The morning newspapers answered by quaere. Zalazar did replace Korthuis at the half due to the latter apparently having a groin injury.

That does make sense. He was falling in the first half and seemed to be "walking on egg shells". I thought it strange that he would be having footware problems given that the U. of A. is the home team.

Hope the bright and sunny day we are currently experiencing continues tomorrow. It was darn cold and windy yesterday.

[Maxacre]

well, we lost! We couldnt finish our chances. The first Trinity goal was awesome, they deserved it. On my part I was disapointed I only played in extra time, I feel I could have made a difference with my finishing ability. Overall it's always disapointing to lose when your the better team, but we can only blame ourselves for the lack of finishing. The weather or the referee are no excuse. Good luck to Trinity in the finals!

[bmac]

Golden Bears win a National Championship at home, 1 - 0 on a second half strike by Hilaire Kamden as a result of a free kick. I am not sure from how far it was. Perhaps 25 to 30 yards. Hit hard, curled over the wall and through the hands of the TWU keeper. Probably a miscue by the keeper but the ball was swirling and no doubt cold and slick.

All things considered it was not a bad national final. Too bad about the conditions but this is Canada after all. I noted a "thumbnail" comment in Halifax's Herald that the conditions affected play and that perhaps the organizers should consider milder climates for the venue.

Where? I recollect Montreal and Trois-Rivieres were hit by near blizzard conditions. I have frozen my "derriere" at Atlantic Bowls in Halifax at about this time of year. Langley and the "wet" coast are dealing with "monsoon" like rain and winds...or at least they were when I was out there last week. This time next week could bring completely different conditions in Western Canada.

TWU played better than the semi-final against U. de M. who I gather won the bronze medal match against Laval earlier in the day.

In the semi-final they got two relatively quick goals from Kekec and fell back into a defensive oriented shell permitting U. de M. lots of time to control and bring the ball up the field.

Here the score being what it was eliminated the falling back into a shell. I think U. of A. scored off a corner in the first half but am not sure if it was called back because of a foul on the keeper or something else.

TWU play an aggressive hard running style that I am sure does not win them any kudos from their opponents. I know Gordon from Saskatoon is not a fan. More of the same today.

I was impressed by Farenik and Kelly in the back. Quite good in the air. TWU rely upon their quickness looking for that miscue in the back four of the opposition or in the case of U. of A. with Myskiw playing sweeper, back 5. Mind you with Kamden and Sidra flying up the flanks it was often a back 3.

For the Golden Bears I was particularly impressed by Harman Braich. For a big man he has a nice touch on the ground complementing his domination in the defensive air along with his fellow centre back Kuhn.

Perugini played another good game in the centre of the mid-field for TWU albeit he lost it a couple of times being cared once for dissent.

Korthuis looked litte more comfortable today than he did on Friday but was subsituted by Zalazar at the appropriate time when his height was no longer able to dominate and he was being called for more fouls.

Cordick for TWU made a number of high paced runs out of the midfield without reward.

Initially in the game Diaz Kambere and Stefan Leslie combined with the former streaking down the wing and crossing a dangerous ball into the penalty area. Unfortunately...at least from a TWU perspective...not much more of that took place thereafter.

Congrats to Len Vickery and the Golden Bears.

[Soccerpro]

I'm in Halifax, and for whatever reason, (global warming?) over the last 2 years there hasnt really been much of a winter. I had to shovel my driveway once or maybe twice last year. Today some people were in shorts. The temperature wont go below 0 until after x mas probably. It never used to be like this a few years ago, but I'm not complaining. All week it will be 10-15, same as all of last fall. I back the Heralds suggestion because there is zero chance of -10 and ice and snow all over the field in most of the maritimes in early november nowadays since were burning up the ozone layer I guess.

[bmac]

"Murphy's Law" being what it is the CIS will award it to SMU, Dal or UNB and that will be the year the weather "returns" to "normal"...what did Bruce Cockburn write, "The trouble with normal is that it always gets worse" [smile]

Worse yet, UPEI will get it just in time for another one heck of a storm blowing off the Northumberland Straits.

I guess Memorial is out because of the travel costs to get to Nfld.

When did the Maritimes last host the Nationals? Wasn't too long ago wasn't it?

I don't think anyone will be wearing shorts here in Edmonton next week but I would not be surprised at all that after another dump of snow it improves significantly.

One nice surprise about the games being here is that I met a fellow I played against in the AUAA finals all of 30 years ago. He played for UNB in Frederiction where they lost to us [Dal] on penalties. Small world.

[Maxacre]

Bmac, The nationals last year were in UPEI. And that goal Alberta scored directly from the corner should have counted. The ref probably assumed the goalie got pushed or something, but we had a clear view of it all and the goalie missplayed the ball.

Our bronze medal match was quit exciting! 38 fouls and 3 red cards. We scored 25 seconds in and got a red card 6-7 mins after, and and 2nd one after that! We still dominated with 2 players down and ended up winning 4-1. Too bad our finishing wasn't this good against Trinity.

Congradulations to Alberta! The finals was some high level soccer. We went out that night and some guy from the Alberta team bought drinks for our team so they are good guys too.

[bmac]

Thank you for the clarification Maxacre. I was at about the 55 yard line so from my vantage point I could not determine if in fact there had been a foul and if so, where and by whom.

I thought that the TWU keeper had difficulty handling the cold and likely slippery ball in the conditions. That having been said perhaps to your chagrin, he really clamped down on that drive from Hanna in the last minutes of your semi-final.

Realized about the UPEI location of last year's final when I got home and checked on the previous championships

Missed the match against Laval. Sounded from the reports to have been an emotional and tough one.

I must say that I enjoyed watching the style of play of your team. Would have liked to have seen it under better conditions. Same applies to Laval. Not as smooth or stylish as your team but at times nice crisp one pass soccer

I was impressed by your fullbacks. I cannot remember if it was #16 or 19 who supported the play quite well. One of them was injured in a mix-up with your keeper. Nasty day to take a bad knock. He looked in a lot of discomfort when substituted. I hope he is doing better. Not a good condition to have to endure a 4 to 4 1/2 hour plane ride back east.

[loyola]

Congrats to Alberta.

When the best 2 teams in Quebec play each other 4 times in 2 months it's always an emotional affair. I was a bit surprised by the 4-1 scoreline since Laval is quite strong defensively, I guess they run out of gas. It was good to see 2 Quebec teams in the semis and I think that the same 2 teams should make it next year unless Mcgill can improve a bit.