Men's Soccer Final Four hosted by York kicks off this weekend

The 2012 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men’s soccer champion will be decided this weekend as four teams battle on the pitch for provincial supremacy at the 2012 OUA Men’s Soccer Final Four Championships.

The provincial championship promises to be exciting, with the top two teams in each division qualifying for the two-day event. Joining the host York Lions, the No. 1 team in the OUA West Division, are the Queen’s Gaels (No. 1 in the East), McMaster Marauders (No. 2 in the West) and Carleton Ravens (No. 2 in the East).

The semifinals will take place on Saturday, Nov. 3 with the Queen's Gaels battling the  McMaster Marauders at 11:00am. York will then take on the Carleton Ravens at 2:00pm. The bronze-medal game will be played on Sunday at 11:00am, followed by the gold-medal final at 2:00pm. All games will be played at McNaughton Park in Vaughn, Ont.

In addition to the OUA title, these four teams are competing for a berth in the CIS Men’s Soccer Championship, which will be held Nov. 8-11 at Universite Laval in Quebec City. The winners of the two semifinals on Saturday will earn the spots at the national tournament.

Since Week 4, all four participating teams have been ranked among the Top 10 in the CIS, ensuring a fierce two days of soccer.

YORK LIONS

The Lions won their sixth straight OUA West Division title with a sparkling 14-0-2 record and was the only team in the conference to go undefeated in the regular season. The squad has been ranked No. 1 in the CIS in each of the last five weeks and posted 11 shutouts in 17 games, including a 1-0 victory over Laurier in the quarter-finals last week. The Lions allowed more than one goal in a game only twice, giving up two to both Windsor and Brock, and did not give up more than two goals in any contest. Throughout the regular season, the Lions were dominant on both offence and defence, scoring more goals than any other squad in the OUA (45) and allowing the fewest (eight).

York swept the majors awards in the West this season, as striker Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) was named the division’s most valuable player, midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto) was given rookie of the year honours, and coach of the year went to Carmine Isacco. The Lions also had five first team all-stars including Pena, goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto), defender Branko Majstorovic (Mississauga, Ont.) and midfielders Charlie Trafford (Calgary) and Arthur Casupanan (Niagara Falls, Ont.)

Last OUA championship: 2007
No. of championships since 1965: 2
2012 goal scorers (regular season): Adrian Pena (17), Mark-Anthony Kaye (7), Joseph Cicchillo (3), Nicolas Mejia (3), Charlie Trafford (3), Tyrone Downes (2), Shaun MacDonald (2), Carlos Nogueira (2), Giancarlo Rella (2), Paramvir Sekhon (2), Martino Belligero, Arthur Casupanan

CARLETON RAVENS  

The Ravens are perennial contenders in the OUA and had another solid season this year, finishing with a 10-2-2 mark for second place in the East. The team was ranked nationally in every week but one, and reached a season high of No. 8 in Week 2. The Ravens scored more goals than any other team in the division this year (36), including a 10-goal outburst against Trent in mid-October. They needed that offence in their quarter-final win over the upstart Ryerson Rams, as the game went into extra time tied at three before the Ravens scored three goals in the final 30 minutes for the 6-3 victory.

Andrew Latty was dominant as a striker for the Ravens in 2012. His 17 goals was enough to sit tied for the most in the OUA, and as a result he was named East division most valuable player and a first team all-star. Midfielder Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) was also named a first team all-star after an eight-goal campaign. Defender Michael Calof (Ottawa) rounds out the Ravens named to the first team, and Sam McHugh (Russell, Ont.) was named to the second team as a midfielder.

Last OUA championship: 2005
No. of championships since 1965: 2
2012 goal scorers (regular season): Andrew Latty (17), Joey Kewin (8), Mekonen Lovemore-White (3), Alexksandar Despotovic (2), Christophe Laberge-Perrault (2), Daud Dahir, Mintcho Mintchev, Caki Simrooglu

QUEEN’S GAELS  

The Gaels had their best season in years, putting together an 11-1-2 record in the regular season to finish in first place in the East. They entered the national rankings in Week 3 and reached a season-high of No. 5 in Week 4, which they are at again this week. The Gaels were dominant on both sides of the ball, boasting the stingiest defence in the division (eight goals allowed) and the second-most prolific offence (32 goals scored), and they did not allow more than one goal in any game this season. The squad escaped its quarter-final match against Toronto, scoring the tying goal in the final minute of extra time then winning on penalty kicks to advance to its first Final Four Championship since 2007.

The Gaels defensive prowess was recognized with two defenders being named East division first team all-stars in Joe Zupo (Toronto) and David Tom (Thunder Bay, Ont.). Goalkeeper Dylan Maxwell (Vancouver) was named to the second team, as were midfielders Nathan Klemencic (Trenton, Ont.) and Henry Bloemen (Toronto).

Last OUA championship: 1995
No. of championships since 1965: 4
2012 goal scorers (regular season): Lucas Azeredo-Lobo (6), Chris Michael (5), Eric Koskins (4), Henry Bloemen (3), Patrick Zanetti (3), Nathan Klemencic (2), Andrew Martin (2), Adrian Rochford (2), Tommy Hong, Nick Pateras, David Tom, Joseph Zupo

McMASTER MARAUDERS 

The Marauders are the defending OUA champions after winning the title in Ottawa last year despite entering the tournament as the lowest-seeded of the four participating teams. The squad has been nationally ranked in each week of the season with a high of No. 3, which it rose to in the final rankings this week. The Marauders finished five points behind the Lions in the West with a 12-1-3 mark, with their only loss coming to York early in the season. Their 34 goals scored and 11 allowed were both the second-best marks in the division, behind the Lions, and they posted the most dominant quarter-final result last week with a 2-0 win over Guelph.

Mark Reilly (Hamilton, Ont.) was the top scorer for the Marauders, which led to him being named a West division first team all-star. Defender Andrew Pastoric (Oakville, Ont.) and midfielder Ryan Garnet (Kitchener, Ont.) join Reilly on the first team. After a strong season defensively, Marauders keeper Angelo Cavalluzzo (Hamilton, Ont.) along with defender Garet McConville (Ottawa) were named to second team all-stars.

Last OUA championship: 2011
No. of championships since 1965: 5
2012 goal scorers (regular season): Mark Reilly (11), Paterson Farrell (8), Gersi Xhuti (4), Ryan Garnet (3), Nathaniel Morris (2), Andrew Pastoric, Andrew Curci, Muntazir Fadhel, Ouajih Hamouda, Garret McConville, Daniel Niksic


OUA MEN'S SOCCER FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE

Sat. Nov. 3 - Semifinal 1 -11 a.m. - McMaster vs. Queen's - McNaughton Park
Sat. Nov. 3 - Semifinal 2 - 2 p.m. - Carleton vs. York - McNaughton Park

Sun. Nov. 4 - Bronze Medal - 11 a.m. - Loser Semifinal 1 vs. Loser Semifinal 2 - McNaughton Park
Sun. Nov. 4 - Gold Medal - 2 p.m. - Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2 - McNaughton Park

Source: OUA, with notes from York Sports Info