U Sports Men's Soccer
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U Sports men's soccer is the highest level of amateur play of
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
in Canada and operates under the auspices of
U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...
, Canada's governing body for university sports. As of the 2024 season, 48 teams from Canadian universities are divided into four athletic conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association,
Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...
,
Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (), abbreviated RSEQ, is the governing body of primary and secondary school, collegiate, and university sport in Quebec. It also serves as a regional membership association for Canadian universities whi ...
, and
Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...
. After interconference playoffs have been played, eight teams compete for the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy, awarded to the U Sports Men's Soccer Championship team.


Season structure


Regular season

The regular season is eight to nine weeks long, depending on the conference. Teams play between 12 and 16 regular season games, depending on conference or division, with teams typically playing a home and home series with every other team in their conference or division. All regular season games are in-conference. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the Player of the Year in U Sports men's soccer.


Playoffs

After the regular season,
single elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
games are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the Canada West and RSEQ conferences, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs, with the fourth and first seeded teams playing one match and the third and second seeded teams playing another. The two winning teams then play for the conference championship. Because there are more teams in the Atlantic conference, the top six teams qualify, with the top two teams receiving a first-round bye. The sixth and third seeded teams play one match and the fifth and fourth seeded teams play another. The winning teams then go on to play the top two seeded teams, with the lowest remaining seed playing the first seeded team and the highest remaining seed playing the second seeded team. The winners of these two semi-final matches then play for the Atlantic conference championship. The Ontario playoff system operates much like the Atlantic one, except it functions for both the West and East
divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...
. The top six teams from each division (twelve total) qualify for the playoffs, with the top two seeds of each division receiving byes. The champions of each division then play for the OUA conference championship. Because the OUA has 12 teams competing, it necessitates a longer post-season schedule. Consequently, the first round of the playoffs in the OUA occurs during the same week that each of the other three conferences are playing their last regular season games. The four conference champions automatically qualify for the U Sports men's soccer championship.


Men's Soccer Championship

The U Sports men's soccer championship, first established in 1972, features eight teams in single elimination matches to determine a national champion. The championship hosts 11 games over four days at a predetermined host venue. The host team is automatically qualified for the tournament, as is each of the conference champions. The top team from the host conference (besides the host team) also qualifies. Berths are also awarded to the second-place finisher in each of the other three conferences.


Teams


Atlantic University Sport


Canada West Universities Athletic Association


Ontario University Athletics


Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec


Professional advancement

U Sports was previously not geared towards producing professional soccer players, though some U Sports players have turned pro. Top players in high schools and sports academies may opt not to play in U Sports so that they can turn pro directly. U Sports players are not eligible for the
MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...
. Despite this, some U Sports alumni in the pro ranks include Haidar Al-Shaibani (Western), Nana Attakora (York), Gabe Gala (Toronto), and Srdjan Djekanović (UBC). Since 2019, U Sports men's soccer players have been eligible for the CPL–U Sports Draft, a draft conducted by the
Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...
. This has allowed U Sports players to have a direct route to a professional league after post-secondary school. The creation of the draft has given a pathway to dozens of players since its inception. Not only do professional clubs now focus on drafting these players, but players can be invited to training camps during the university offseason allowing for greater development. Players not drafted or signed can return to school, if eligibility remains.


References


External links

* {{College association football University and college soccer in Canada Soccer leagues in Canada