MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – September is time to make hay for the MacEwan Griffins men's soccer team.
The Griffins are home six times during the month and will be looking to position themselves well as they aim for a return to the Canada West playoffs for the first time since 2021.
While MacEwan will kick off the 2024 campaign on the road (Aug. 30 at Lethbridge), they return to Edmonton for their home opener Sept. 7 vs. Mount Royal University and will also host Calgary, UFV, Trinity Western, Saskatchewan and Lethbridge in September.
SEE THE FULL 2024 SCHEDULE HERE
All of the Griffins' home games will be played indoors at the friendly confines of the Edmonton Scottish Dome where they practise most mornings.
"We're looking forward to playing matches at the same place and surface that we practise on," said Griffins head coach Adam Loga. "This is a first for the men's program, so it will help take us to the next level."
MacEwan's major road trip of the season comes on the Sept. 13-15 weekend when they play at Thompson Rivers in Kamloops, B.C. and at UNBC in Prince George, B.C. two days later.
The Griffins conclude the season with a cross-town rivalry match against the Alberta Golden Bears (Oct. 13 at Foote Field and Oct. 18 at Edmonton Scottish – the latter is Senior Day) as they aim to lock up a playoff spot.
After making the post-season in 2021, the Griffins have been knocking on the door the last two seasons, missing out by a single point in 2022 and coming a win shy in 2023. Bolstered by a strong incoming recruiting class, optimism reigns for a return to the dance in 2024.
"Our first recruiting cycle as a staff has come and is now gone," said Loga. "That group came to build us and make us relevant, and they did just that.
"We're looking forward to where this next group can take us."
Canada West is rolling out a new playoff format for men's soccer this season with tournament formats on the opening weekend of playoffs – Oct. 25-27. The top seeds in both the Prairie and Pacific Divisions will host quarter-final and semifinal matches with the winners advancing to a one-game final on the Nov. 1-3 weekend hosted by the highest-remaining Pacific seed or highest Prairie seed, if none are left.
The U SPORTS men's soccer championship will take place Nov. 7-10 at Ontario Tech University in Simcoe, Ont.
