New season begins for defending U SPORTS champion Griffins on Aug. 26
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Circle Aug. 26 on the calendar.
That's the date the reigning national champion MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team kicks off its title defence, opening the 2022 Canada West season at home vs. cross-town rival Alberta (6 p.m., Clarke Stadium).
MacEwan's 14-game regular season slate – unveiled by the conference on Monday – features several intriguing matchups, including a rematch of the 2021 national semifinal when they visit UBC on Sept. 10.
The Griffins beat the Thunderbirds in overtime at the nationals in Cape Breton last November to punch their ticket to the U SPORTS championship final, where they defeated the Trinity Western Spartans.
"We're excited to get back to a normal format with a full conference schedule," said head coach Dean Cordeiro. "Hard to believe we're just 10 weeks out from the season opener.
"We're prepared to defend our title, and our goal this year is to run it back."
A match with TWU isn't on the docket in the 2022 regular season, but facing UBC in their fourth game of the schedule will be a good early season litmus test for the Griffins.
MacEwan will have home-and-home series against all of their Alberta rivals, except Calgary, which is in the Pacific Division in 2022.
The Griffins and Dinos will, however, meet once (Sept. 18, 4:30 p.m., Clarke Stadium) – a key test, as well, against a program that won the Canada West championship in 2019.
The Griffins wrap up the regular season Oct. 15-16 with a pair of home games against Regina and Saskatchewan, respectively.
The 2022 post-season format features Play-in single elimination games on Oct. 22 between the No. 4 and 5 seeds, crossing over in both the Prairie and Pacific Divisions.
Following that, single elimination quarter-final games go Oct. 29 and the Final Four – hosted by the highest-remaining Prairie seed – will run Nov. 4-6.
The 2022 U SPORTS national championship will be hosted by Laval in Quebec City on Nov. 10-13.
