CW FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

CANADA WEST FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

Men's Soccer (Canada West)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Canada West Final Four

FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

LANGLEY, British Columbia -Welcome to the 2007 Canada West Men's Soccer Championships. This weekend's final four has the No. 1 Trinity Western University Spartans facing the No. 4 University of Alberta Golden Bears at 6:30 p.m. and the No. 2 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds facing the No. 3 University of Victoria Vikes at 4 p.m. on Friday. The winners will play in the Gold Medal match on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., while the losers will play for Bronze on Saturday at 4 p.m. If Friday's matches are tied after regulation the teams will play two 15 minute overtimes. If they are still tied the will go to a shoot-out. The Canada West Champion and the University of British Columbia (host) will advance to next weekends CIS National Championship at the University of British Columbia Nov. 8-11 at UBC.

Trinity Western University

The defending two-time Canada West Champions, who are making their fifth straight play-off appearance, have had a record breaking season. The fourth ranked Spartans finished the season with 34 points at 11-2-1, the 11 wins and 34 points are the most ever by a Canada West men's soccer team.

TWU led Canada West at both ends of the park. On the offensive side they were first in goal scoring with 33 goals, goals per game at 2.36 and assists per game with 1.29. While on the defensive end the finished tops in goals allowed at 14 and goals allowed per game at one.

The Spartans are strong all over the park. Upfront they are led by strikers Nathan Pogue, who won the CW goal scoring crown with 10 goals and Adrian Kekec, who finished fourth in goal scoring with seven goals. The middle of the field is anchored by three-time CIS All-Canadian Nick Perugini. The back-line finds standouts Paul Hamilton and 2006 CIS championship MVP Justin Farenik patrolling the park in front of keeper Andrew Fink. Fink finished the Canada West season second in goals against average at one and second in save percentage at .803.

TWU won Canada West titles in 2005 and 2006 while earning CIS Bronze in 2005 and silver in 2006. This is their third Canada West league championship, having previously earned titles in 2004 and 2003. The Spartans entered Canada West in 2001.

UBC

Knowing that they have had locked up a spot at this years CIS National Championship from the start of the season has allowed the University of British Columbia to start slowly and build towards the CI's. UBC started 1-3-1 but have gone 3-1-2 over the past three weeks to lock down the No. 2 seed in this year's Canada West championship. The Thunderbirds are no strangers to post season success and are only two years removed from their last CIS national championship having won in 2005 in Prince Edward Island.

The Thunderbirds have a strong defense which is led by defender's Graham Smith, Paul Bahia and midfielders Michael Elliott and Jorge Angel-Mira. On the offensive end Angel-Mira had an outstanding rookie season finishing eighth in Canada West goal scoring with five goals, while Steve Frazao finished seventh in CW in assists with 0.25 assists per game.

Victoria

The last time the University of Victoria Vikes competed in the post-season, they won it all in 2004. Now in 2007, after taking points in each of the past four games, the Vikes have earned a return trip as the no. 3 seed.

The Vikes have used a well-balanced attack to produce a 6-5-3 record. The Vikes offense ranked second in the Canada West, with 23 goals scored. CIS All-Canadian Cole McFarlane led the team with seven goals scored, and teamed up with Peter Richmond to provide one of the most formidable front-line duos in the conference. Richmond contributed a league-high five assists, and also scored three times.

Defensively, the Vikes were third in the league with just 19 goals against. Goalkeeper Dan Kilpatrick recorded a league high six shutouts, and has allowed just two goals in the past four games.

Alberta

The University of Alberta Golden Bears soccer team, defending CIS champions, head to the 2006-07 Canada West championship as the No. 4 seed where they will open the tournament against the No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans, who beat Alberta twice this season and once last season in the Conference championship, before falling 1-0 in the CIS gold medal game in Edmonton.

After starting the season 0-2 with a roster featuring seven new starters and 11 players overall, the Bears went undefeated in nine of their next 10 games, before dropping their final two games of the season on the road.

Offensively Alberta is led by the striking tandem of 2004 Canada West Rookie of the Year John Konye and freshman striker Brett Colvin. Konye has notched seven goals and one helper, which puts him tied for fifth in Conference scoring, while Colvin has four goals and five assists, which sees him tied for ninth in Conference scoring. 2006-07 Canada West Player of the Year, Junior Castrillon-Rendon shifted in the off-season from striker to midfield where he has picked up two goals and three assists.

Freshman goalie Jaswinder Gill has posted a 4-4-3 record, while back-up ‘keepers Ryan Callaway and Steve Reid combined for a 2-1-0 record with limited minutes.

About CWUAA
"Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 14 schools, from Manitoba to B.C., the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in events such as the Olympics or Universiade Games."

Men's Soccer at TWU
All matches played at TWU's Spartan Field Complex

Friday, November 2, 2007
4 p.m. Game 1 - #2 UBC vs #3 Victoria
6:30 p.m. Game 2 - #1 TWU vs #4 Alberta

Saturday, November 3, 2007
4 p.m. Game 3 - Bronze Medal Match
6:30 p.m. Game 4 - Gold Medal Match

Canada West Universities Athletic Association
www.canadawest.org

Canadian Interuniversity Sport
www.universitysport.ca

Last Updated: 2009-09-03
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca