KINGSTON, ON – The opening day of the U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship is in the books, and it’s set the stage for an exceptional pair of semifinals, including a 6:30 pm AT clash between the host Cape Breton Capers and the Canada West Champion MRU Cougars.
With the dramatics of quarterfinal day in the rearview, we look ahead to the semifinals, where teams look to get up to speed before a rest day, ahead of Sunday’s final and bronze medal match. Similarly, the consolation bracket begins for Carleton, York, StFX and UQTR. ‘
All the matches can be streamed live on CBC Sports and the CBC Sports YouTube.
READ MORE | Previewing UBC Thunderbirds vs Montreal Carabins
How we got here:
The Cape Breton Capers escaped a close call in the late stages of Thursday’s quarterfinal against the UQTR Patriotes. Owen Sheppard scored two first-half goals before the host program surrendered a pair, eventually winning in penalty kicks with two saves from Dan Clarke.
Meanwhile, the MRU Cougars kept their unbelievable form up at the national championship level, shutting out a feisty York Lions team, clinching their spot in the semifinals against Cape Breton with a late corner-kick goal from Miguel Da Rocha.
With the dramatics of quarterfinal day in the rearview, we look ahead to the semifinals, where teams look to get up to speed before a rest day, ahead of Sunday’s final and bronze medal match. Similarly, the consolation bracket begins for Carleton, York, StFX and UQTR. ‘
A busy midfield and top goalkeepers
There’s no bad story in the Mount Royal Cougars clash with the Cape Breton Capers in the U SPORTS semifinal. Either it’s a team making the national final for the first time or the home side earning a chance to win the U SPORTS banner at home.
The Capers enter this match after a dramatic affair, where they showed strong through the first half against UQTR before quickly surrendering a 2-0 lead and looking vulnerable for the late stages of the match. Although they pulled it off through strong goalkeeping from Daniel Clarke in penalty kicks, there are concerns regarding how they can close games against top-tier teams, such as MRU.
However, the start of their effort against the RSEQ champions is precisely what they’ll need to beat a tough MRU side. Owen Sheppard’s two goals put him in good form, and he played confidently as a wide-floating striker against UQTR, but he will have to adjust to being slightly more direct as the Cougars are strong through the spine of their team.
While head coach Deano Morely will lean on Sheppard’s ability to get into attacking spaces, Sebastian Cochrane also remains an important piece in unlocking one of the best teams in U SPORTS.
That said, MRU’s Ryan Gyaki will be confident that they won’t have to change very much in their approach, especially with a midfield that completely neutralized York’s attack, which featured some of the most dynamic players in the OUA, one of whom, Christian Zeppieri, was returning from suspension.
Look for the Cougars to continue to play an aggressive game, attempting to break up any rhythms Cape Breton tries to establish before counter-attacking through Josh Flaksman, Mowbray Beghin, and David Schaefer.
Set pieces will also be critical for MRU, given their strength in those areas this season, with veteran defenceman Caden Rogozinsk being one of their primary-headed set-piece threats.
Yet, despite the many attacking field players, this match likely comes down to two of the hottest goalkeepers in U SPORTS, the best of Canada West in rookie Aidan Dumoulin, or the Capers’ Daniel Clarke, who made seven saves against UQTR before stopping two penalty kicks.
Of the two semifinals, this one is incredibly tough to pick, given the experience both teams bring into the game off two successful seasons. The Cougars might have an edge, leaving the potential for an all-Canada-West Final.
CPL Potentials
With that, they might have to make the most of this season, as they have immense potential for Canadian Premier League Draft Picks, most notably Dumoulin, who finished the Canada West regular season with 10 clean sheets before shutting out York at nationals. CBU’s potential CPL picks include Jacob Spizzirri, Max Piepgrass, and Owen Sheppard, while Clarke could be an outside shot. Ze Cunha, a former Atletico Ottawa player, could also return to the league.