MSOC: UBC T-Birds top pre-season poll ahead of opening weekend
EDMONTON – The UBC Thunderbirds are the frontrunners heading into the 2018 Canada West men’s soccer season, as the conference’s annual pre-season coaches poll was released Monday.
UBC topped the poll, earning 139 points and eight of a possible 12 first-place votes, as the conference’s 13 men’s soccer squads get set for this weekend’s opening matches.
Highlights:
- The defending CW champion UBC Thunderbirds have topped the annual pre-season coaches poll
- UBC earned eight first-place votes, while Alberta (4) and Thompson Rivers (1) also got first-place nods from around the conference
- The 2018 Canada West season opens this Friday, with a full set of games on the schedule both Saturday and Sunday
The T-Birds, who earned the Canada West championship for the 18th time in program history last season, enter the new campaign as the narrow favourites over the Alberta Golden Bears, who finished second in the poll with 134 points and four first-place votes.
Alberta was the conference’s top regular season team ago, going 9-1-4 to top the Prairie Division. The Bears yielded just nine goals, while scoring 36 – both tops in Canada West. Alberta eventually finished fourth in Canada West, losing to Thompson Rivers in the CW bronze medal game.
Rounding out the top five in the poll were the Trinity Western Spartans (121 pts.), Calgary Dinos (97 pts.), and Thompson Rivers WolfPack (95 pts.).
TRU secured the lone first-place vote not given to UBC, or Alberta, as the WolfPack received a wide range of votes from the conference’s coaches. TRU was pegged anywhere from first to 10th by the coaches, making them a bit of an unknown in the eyes of conference coaches heading into 2018.
The 2018 Canada West men’s soccer season kicks off this Friday when the UNBC Timberwolves host the Victoria Vikes in Prince George, B.C. A complete conference preview will be released Wednesday, August 22.
You can watch extensive CW MSOC action all season long by tuning into Canada West TV – the official streaming home of Canada West.
All Pacific Division teams will webcast all home games this season, while select Prairie Division teams will also webcast every home game. New for 2018, you can also watch every game on demand, even from those schools who don’t webcast live.
To purchase your 2018 Canada West TV pass, click here. Early bird pricing is in effect until Friday, Aug. 24.
2018 CANADA WEST MSOC PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
TEAM / POINTS (FIRST-PLACE VOTES)
1. UBC Thunderbirds / 139 (8)
2. Alberta Golden Bears / 134 (4)
3. Trinity Western Spartans / 121
4. Calgary Dinos / 97
5. Thompson Rivers WolfPack / 95 (1)
6. Saskatchewan Huskies / 83
7. Mount Royal Cougars / 72
8. UNBC Timberwolves / 60
9. Victoria Vikes / 59
10. UBCO Heat / 58
11. UFV Cascades / 49
12. Lethbridge Pronghorns / 24
13. MacEwan Griffins / 16
NOTES: Coaches rank all conference teams excluding their own. First-place vote worth 12 pts., second-place 11 pts. etc.