MSOC Playoff Preview
Undefeated UBC headlines list of playoff contenders
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
Oct. 24, 2025 - All roads to the 2025 Canada West men’s soccer championship run through Calgary and Vancouver this weekend, with quarterfinal and semifinal matches hosted by Mount Royal and UBC.
Action kicks off Friday with quarterfinal matches between the Mount Royal Cougars and Trinity Western Spartans, Victoria Vikes and Lethbridge Pronghorns, Calgary Dinos and UFV Cascades, as well as the defending champion UBC Thunderbirds and Alberta Golden Bears.
The winning sides advance to play in the semi-finals on Sunday, when tickets will be punched for the gold medal match on the first weekend in November.
All postseason action will be broadcast live on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel.
Mount Royal (7-3-4, first in Prairie Division) vs. Trinity Western (5-6-4, fourth in Pacific Division)
Friday, Oct. 24 - Noon MDT at MRU Field #2 in Calgary
An early regular season match between these two teams decided nothing. Now they’ll get another chance at each other, but this time everything is on the line.
In what was only the fifth meeting ever between these two programs, the Cougars and Spartans played to a scoreless draw in Langley on Sept. 12. Scoring opportunities were limited, with Mount Royal and Trinity Western combining for just four shots on goal.
This will be the first time that the Cougars have faced the Spartans in the playoffs. Mount Royal has reached the Canada West men’s soccer semi-final every postseason since 2018, which was the last time that Trinity Western advanced to the semis.
Victoria (10-3-2, second in Pacific Division) vs. Lethbridge (5-3-6, second in Prairie Division)
Friday, Oct. 24 - 2:30 p.m. MDT at MRU Field #2 in Calgary
When the Vikes and Pronghorns last met, Victoria prevailed by a score of 3-1 in Lethbridge on Sept. 20. But the Pronghorns have lost only once since that game and enter the postseason on a six-match unbeaten streak.
During the Canada West regular season, Victoria conceded just 15 goals, fourth fewest in the conference, while Lethbridge ranked fifth with 16 goals against. Vikes goalkeeper Callum Weir stopped 53 of the 68 shots he faced, finishing with a slightly higher save percentage than his Pronghorns counterpart Tegan Romaine, who made 51 saves on 67 shots.
Victoria hasn’t lost to Lethbridge in the team’s last 10 head-to-head matches, going 7-0-3 over a streak that stretches back to 2010.
Calgary (8-5-1, second in Prairie Division) vs. UFV (7-4-4, third in Pacific Division)
Friday, Oct. 24 - 4 p.m. PDT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver
The Dinos allowed just 19 goals in 14 matches during the Canada West men’s regular season, largely because they don’t give up many chances: opponents fired just 54 shots on Calgary’s goalkeepers this season, second fewest in the conference. But now the Dinos must contend with Canada West’s most prolific finisher, Cascades forward Mateo Brazinha, who totalled a conference-leading 13 goals.
Beyond Brazinha, this match will showcase a number of skilled scorers. Only three Canada West teams averaged at least two goals per game this season, and Calgary and UFV are two of them.
While the Dinos and Cascades did not meet during the regular season, they played to a 1-1 draw in an exhibition match on Aug. 14.
UBC (15-0-1, first in Pacific Division) vs. Alberta (5-6-3, fourth in Prairie Division)
Friday, Oct. 24 - 7 p.m. PDT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver
After capturing the Canada West men’s soccer title for the sixth time in seven postseasons last year, UBC picked up right where it left off, winning 15 of 16 matches this season, with the only blemish being a scoreless road draw against UFV at the start of October.
The Thunderbirds have been especially dominant in Vancouver, going 7-0-0 while outscoring opponents 18-3 at home. One of those matches came against Alberta on Sept. 12, and while UBC prevailed by a score of 1-0, the Golden Bears held the host side to its fewest goals in a match at Thunderbird Stadium this year.
UBC and Alberta ranked first and second, respectively, in fewest goals allowed during the Canada West men’s soccer regular season, so another low-scoring affair is not unlikely.
CW Men's Soccer Semifinal Schedule
Semifinal #1: MRU/TWU winner vs. VIC/LET winner
Sunday 1 p.m. MDT at MRU Field #2 in Calgary
Semifinal #2 - UBC/ALB winner vs. CGY/UFV winner
Sunday 1 p.m. PDT at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver