HAMILTON, Ont. - After winning the OUA Championship game against the TMU Bold on Saturday, the McMaster Marauders men's soccer team has made the trek to Kamloops, B.C. for the 2022 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship presented by RBC. The Marauders have won all three post-season contests so far and will look to make it four on Thursday night when they face the hometown TRU Wolfpack. Both teams took very different paths to the U SPORTS Championship and with a spot in the medal round on the line, both teams will be looking to put on a peak performance. Game time is set for 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern.
McMaster at Thompson Rivers
U SPORTS Quarterfinal
Hillside Stadium | Kamloops, B.C.
November 10th, 2022 @ 5pm PT/8pm ET
After facing teams from across Ontario and coming out on top, the Marauders will now contend with the best in Canada and look to bring home some hardware. The Cape Breton Capers are the 2022 AUS Champions and are undefeated this season with just two ties tainting their perfect record. The Montreal Carabins, the defending national champions will be a tough competitor, after defeating teams from across Quebec to earn the 2022 RSEQ Championship title. From the Pacific, the Canada West gold medalists, the UBC Thunderbirds, will show how competitive the west can be. The Marauders will also be joined by the host - the TRU Wolfpack, - TMU Bold, StFX X-Men and UQTR Patriotes. Each of the eight teams in Kamloops, B.C. will leave it all on the field in search of the national title.
As a former Marauder student-athlete who represented McMaster at a national championship, Head Coach, Chris Markou, has had quite the first season on the sidelines and is excited for what this weekend has in store. "It's been an exciting ride so far but I'm just truly enjoying the experience each day that I'm with the team. Being here was our top goal this season and the fact that McMaster Soccer is back once again is absolutely amazing to me. Being able to contribute both as a player and now as a coach on the national stage has truly come full-circle and I want to see how far we can take this journey together."
The maroon and grey are coming off a huge 1-0 victory over the TMU Bold in last Saturday night's title contest in Toronto. The game started slow on both sides, with minimal offensive chances and the majority of the play occurring around midfield. In a very physical contest, the biggest play of the first half was the sending off of OUA First Team All-Star, Luca Di Marco, dropping the Bold to 10 men for the remainder of the contest. At the break, the score remained 0-0. The home team came out of the dressing room strong at halftime, controlling the tempo while pushing for the first goal of the game. Despite the effort, it was the Marauders who scored the go ahead goal. After making a save on a TMU striker, rookie goalkeeper, Ethan Cagalj (Stoney Creek, Ont.), quickly put the ball up field, finding Justin Baker (Hamilton, Ont.) on the right wing. Showcasing some fancy footwork, Baker put the ball in the box and found the foot of Amir Shirazi (Oakville, Ont.) Shirazi has been no stranger to putting the ball in the back of the net this season and did just that, beating the Bold goalkeeper low and in the corner in the 79th minute. McMaster made some substitutions late to protect the one goal lead and were successful holding off the Bold.
Without a doubt, what makes this team unique is our team chemistry and depth. These are talented, hard-working and very determined young men who wanted to achieve more this year. Their ability to come together in less than 3 months is a testament to their willingness to win.
- Chris Markou, Head Coach
McMaster has the momentum headed into Thursday night's contest, as the Marauders come into the tournament riding one of the longest winning streaks in the country. Winning their final three games of the regular season and finishing the post-season with a perfect 3-0 record, the Marauders will look to come out on top and secure the opportunity to compete for a medal.
U SPORTS National Championship Seeding
- #1, Cape Breton Capers, AUS Champions (10-0-2, 2-0)
- #2, Montreal Carabins, RSEQ Champions (9-1-2, 2-0)
- #3, UBC Thunderbirds, Canada West Champions (8-3-1, 3-0)
- #4, McMaster Marauders, OUA Champions (8-3-1, 3-0)
- #5, TRU Wolfpack, Hosts (7-3-5, 0-1)
- #6, TMU Bold, OUA Finalists (9-3-0, 2-1)
- #7, StFX X-Men, AUS Finalists (7-3-2, 2-1)
- #8, UQTR Patriotes, RSEQ Finalists (7-3-2, 1-1)
Team Statistics
McMaster Marauders
- Regular Season Record: 8-3-1, 30 GF - 18 GA
- Regular Season Finish: 2nd in OUA West
- Playoff Record: 3-0
- Playoff Finish: OUA Champions
- Last U SPORTS Championship Appearance: 2015
- Number of Appearances at U SPORTS Championship: 11
TRU Wolfpack
- Regular Season Record: 7-3-5, 17 GF - 10 GA
- Regular Season Finish: 2nd in Canada West Pacific
- Playoff Record: 0-1
- Playoff Finish: N/A
- Last U SPORTS Championship Appearance: 2017
- Number of Appearances at U SPORTS Championship: 1
Team Leaders
McMaster Marauders
Regular Season
Playoffs
- Goals: Amir Shirazi, 3 goals
- Assists: Justin Baker, 2 assists
- Points: Amir Shirazi, 4 points
- Goalkeeper: Ethan Cagalj, 3-0, 2 shutouts, 0.33 GAA
TRU Wolfpack
Regular Season
- Goals: Ryan Lewis, 7 goals
- Assists: Patrick Izett, 4 assists
- Points: Ryan Lewis & Patrick Izett, 7 points
- Goalkeeper: Jackson Gardner, 7-3-5, 7 shutouts, .667 GAA
Playoffs
- Goals: Ante Grgic, 1 goal
- Assists: N/A
- Points: Ante Grgic, 1 point
- Goalkeeper: Jackson Gardner, 0-1, 0 shutouts, 2.00 GAA
Full U SPORTS Championship Schedule
*All times in Pacific Time*
Thursday, November 10th - Day 1 of Competition
11:00 am - StFX vs Montreal (Game A)
1:30 pm - TMU vs UBC (Game B)
5:00 pm - McMaster vs TRU (Game C)
7:30 pm - UQTR vs Cape Breton (Game D)
Friday, November 11th- Day 2 of Competition
11:15 am - Consolation Semi-Final 1 - StFX vs TMU (Game E)
1:30 pm - Consolation Semi-Final 2 - UQTR vs McMaster (Game F)
5:00 pm - Championship Semi-Final 1 - UBC vs Montreal (Game G)
7:30 pm - Championship Semi-Final 2 - Cape Breton vs TMU (Game H)
Saturday, November 12th- Day 3 of Competition
1:30 pm Consolation 5th Place: Winner Game E vs Winner Game F
Sunday, November 13th- Day 4 of Competition
11:00 am - Bronze: Loser Game G vs. Loser Game H
2:00 pm - Gold: Winner Game G vs. Winner Game H
U SPORTS National Championship Coverage
Watch Live:
CBC YouTube Channel (Quarterfinals and Consolation Round)
CBCSports.ca (Semi-Finals & Medal Round)
Twitter: @McMasterSports & @USPORTS_Soccer
Instagram: @mcmastermsoc& @mcmastersports
For the latest news and updates on the McMaster Marauders, follow @mcmastersports on social media or visit www.marauders.ca.
