U Sports men's soccer
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|
| Formerly | CIAU Soccer, CIS Soccer |
|---|---|
| Sport | Soccer |
| Founded | 1972 |
| No. of teams | 49, in four conferences |
| Country | Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) |
York Lions |
| Most titles | UBC Thunderbirds (11) |
| Related competitions |
U Sports Men's Soccer Championship |
| Official website | en |
U Sports men's soccer is the highest level of play at the university level under the auspices of U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. As of the 2016 season, 49 teams from Canadian universities are divided into four conferences, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Ontario University Athletics, Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec, and Atlantic University Sport. 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.
The regular season is eight to nine weeks long, depending on the conference, and, as of 2011, opens on the Labour Day weekend. 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.
After the regular season, single elimination playoff games are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the Canada West and Quebec 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.
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