2023 U Sports Men's Soccer Championship

The 2023 U Sports Men's Soccer Championship was the 51st edition of the U Sports men's soccer championship, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of the 2023 U Sports men's soccer season. The tournament started on November 9 and ended with the bronze-medal and championship games being played on November 12 at Cape Breton University. It was the fourth tournament to be held in Nova Scotia.[1]

2023 U Sports Men's Soccer Championship
Tournament details
CountryCanada
Venue(s)Ness Timmons Field
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Dates9–12 November 2023
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsCBU Capers (2nd title)
Runner-upMontreal Carabins
Third placeUBC Thunderbirds
Tournament statistics
Matches played11
Goals scored22 (2 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Owen Sheppard, Tyler Attardo (3 each)
Championship MVPOwen Sheppard (CBU Capers)
← 2022
2024 →

All statistics correct as of 12 November 2023.

Thompson Rivers WolfPack were the defending champions following their victory in 2022, however, they failed the qualify for the 2023 tournament following a quarterfinal elimination in the Canada West playoffs.[2]

Host

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The tournament was held at Ness Timmons Field, on the grounds of Cape Breton University. CBU were hosting the tournament for the first time in 51 years.[3]

Qualified teams

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The championship consisted of an eight-team single-elimination tournament. Four teams automatically qualified for the tournament as one of the winners of the four conferences, three qualified as the runners-ups, and one qualified as the host.

Participating teams

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Team Qualified Last appearance Last win[4]
CBU Capers Host 2022 2017
St. Francis Xavier X-Men AUS champions 2022 Never
Carleton Ravens OUA champions 2021 Never
York Lions OUA finalists 2019 2015
Montréal Carabins RSEQ champions 2022 2021
UQTR Patriotes RSEQ finalists 2022 2019
Mount Royal Cougars Canada West champions None Never
UBC Thunderbirds Canada West finalists 2022 2013

Seeding

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The conference champions were allocated seeds 1 through 4, with the additional teams (conference runners-up or host team) allocated seeds 5 through 8. Ideally, seed 1 plays seed 8, seed 2 plays seed 7, seed 3 plays seed 6, and seed 4 plays seed 5, however, the bracket may be adjusted in the interest of avoiding an intra-conference matchup in the first round.[5]

Pos Conf. Team Reg. Season Playoffs
1 CW Mount Royal Cougars 11–2–1 3–0–0
2 AUS St. Francis Xavier X-Men 9–2–1 2–0–0
3 OUS Carleton Ravens 10–1–1 2–0–1
4 RSEQ UQTR Patriotes 6–5–1 2–0–0
5 AUS CBU Capers (H) 9–0–3 1–1–0
6 RSEQ Montreal Carabins 9–0–3 1–1–0
7 CW UBC Thunderbirds 13–1–2 2–1–0
8 OUS York Lions 7–2–3 1–1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 4 November 2023. Source: Standings
(H) Host

Bracket

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Results

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Day 1

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Quarter-finals

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November 9th Match A Mount Royal Cougars 1–0 York Lions Sydney, Nova Scotia
7:30pm
Report Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Mario Al-Ayass

Day 2

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Consolation Semi-finals

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Semi-finals

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November 10th Match G CBU Capers 1–0 Mount Royal Cougars Sydney, Nova Scotia
6:30pm Report Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Mario Al-Ayass
November 10th Match H UBC Thunderbirds 0–2 Montreal Carabins Sydney, Nova Scotia
4:00pm Report Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Niko Jecanski

Day 3

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5th place match

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November 11th Match I York Lions 3–1 St. Francis Xavier X-Men Sydney, Nova Scotia
1:00pm
Report
Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Scott Decker

Day 4

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3rd place match

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November 12th Match J Mount Royal Cougars 0–1 UBC Thunderbirds Sydney, Nova Scotia
11:00am
Report
Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Seb. Noshinravari

Final

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November 12th Match K CBU Capers 1–0 Montreal Carabins Sydney, Nova Scotia
2:00pm Report Stadium: Cape Breton University
Attendance: 0[a]
Referee: Mario Al-Ayass

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There have been 22 goals scored in 11 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Match report claims that there were 0 spectators in attendance, however, spectators were clearly visible in live streams broadcast by the CBC.
  1. ^ "2023 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship". U Sports. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  2. ^ "2023 Men's Soccer Championship". Canada West Universities Athletic Association. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  3. ^ Fraser, Jeremy. "NATIONAL PREVIEW: Eight teams set sights on Cape Breton for U Sports Men's Soccer Championship this week | SaltWire". www.saltwire.com. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  4. ^ "U Sports men's soccer championship", Wikipedia, 2023-11-14, retrieved 2023-11-16
  5. ^ "PLAYING REGULATIONS – MEN'S SOCCER" (PDF). U Sports. August 2023. Retrieved November 3, 2023.