MSOC: Quarterfinal Preview

The 2023 Canada West men's soccer playoffs kick off across the conference this weekend, with quarterfinal and semifinal action hosted by UBC and Mount Royal.

Over three days of exciting competition, eight teams will be reduced to two that advance to the championship final.

Matches are set for Friday (Oct. 27) and Saturday (Oct. 28) in Vancouver, where the T-Birds are being joined by the Alberta Golden Bears, Calgary Dinos and Trinity Western Spartans. Fans can look forward to another playoff battle between the T-Birds and Dinos, who will meet in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The two teams met in a tightly contested final last season, with UBC emerging victorous on penalties.

In Calgary, games are scheduled on Saturday (Oct. 28) and Sunday (Oct. 29), with the Cougars welcoming the Lethbridge Pronghorns, Thompson Rivers WolfPack and Victoria Vikes.

There's a story to be told for every one of these teams, who have already survived the rigours of the Canada West regular season to make it this far.

Top-seeded UBC has its sights set on a record-tying sixth straight Canada West men's soccer championship trophy, while Lethbridge, Mount Royal and Thompson Rivers are all seeking the first gold medal for their respective programs.

Fans of Alberta, Calgary, Trinity Western and Victoria men's soccer have cheered their team on to the championship before and are eager to experience it again.

All games will be broadcast live on Canada West TV. Here's a look at who to watch in this weekend's slate of matches:

UBC (13-1-2, first in Pacific Division) vs. Calgary (4-7-3, fourth in Prairie Division) – Friday 5 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver

• Regular Season head-to-head
  • Sept. 22: Calgary 0 at UBC 1
• Who to Watch:
  • Sebastian Dzikowski (UBC, third year, forward) set a single-season program record for the T-Birds this season with a Canada West-leading 15 goals.
  • Liam Hunter (Calgary, fifth year, goalkeeper) played all 14 games this season for the Dinos, making 55 saves, most among all goalies on teams that qualified for the playoffs.

Alberta (10-2-2, 2nd in Prairie Division) vs. Trinity Western (6-4-5, third in Pacific Division) – Friday 7:30 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver

• Regular Season head-to-head
  • Sept. 24: Alberta 1 at Trinity Western 0
• Who to Watch
  • Chris Ezousa (Alberta, fifth year, goalkeeper) led all Canada West goalies with a .873 save percentage and ranked third with a goals against average of 0.58.
  • Thomas Powell (Trinity Western, third year, midfield) has controlled the dangerous TWU attack through the midfield all season, while also showing some finish of his own while scoring four goals and adding three helpers

Victoria (10-4-2, second in Pacific Division) vs. Lethbridge (4-5-5, third in Prairie Division) – Saturday 10 a.m. MT at Stadium Field in Calgary 

• Regular Season head-to-head
  • Did not play
• Who to Watch
  • Javier Sagaste (Victoria, fourth year, midfield) was on the pitch for every second of Victoria's 16 matches this season, scoring a team-high six goals and tying for the conference lead with six assists.
  • Will Hughes (Lethbridge, third year, midfield) finished the season tied for third in Canada West with 11 points, leading Lethbridge with six goals and five assists.

Mount Royal (11-2-1, first in Prairie Division) vs. Thompson Rivers (7-7-1, fourth in Pacific Division) – Saturday 1 p.m. MT at Stadium Field in Calgary 

• Regular Season head-to-head
  • Did not play
• Who to Watch
  • Aidan Dumoulin (Mount Royal, first year, goalkeeper) burst on the scene in 2023, starting all 14 games for the Cougars and leading Canada West with a 0.36 goals against average.
  • Patrick Izett (Thompson Rivers, fifth year, midfield) led the WolfPack with four goals and tied for the team lead with four assists, while also firing a team high 37 shots.

Semifinal Schedule

UBC/Lethbridge winner vs Alberta/Trinity Western winner – Saturday 7:30 p.m. PT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver

Victoria/Lethbridge winner vs Mount Royal/Thompson Rivers winner – Sunday 1 p.m. MT at Stadium Field in Calgary