The Varsity Blues men’s soccer team are ranked fourth and the women fifth as Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) announced the first soccer rankings of 2010 on Tuesday, August 31.

The reigning national champion Trinity Western Spartans (women) and Laval Rouge et Or (men) top the first soccer rankings of 2010.

The Spartans, who joined CIS in 2001, captured their second straight and third overall Gladys Bean memorial trophy last fall thanks to a 1-0 victory (4-2 on penalty kicks) over the Montreal Carabins in the national final, in Toronto. TWU opens at No. 1 for the second year in a row.

On the men’s side, Laval starts at No. 1 for the first time in team history, nine months after claiming its first-ever Sam Davidson memorial trophy with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over QSSF rival McGill, in Langley, B.C. The Rouge et Or men’s soccer program was re-launched in 2000 after folding two decades before.

The Varsity Blues open their season on the road against the Nipissing Lakers (Sept. 3) and Laurentian Voyageurs (Sept. 4). The women start the action at 12 p.m. with the men to follow at 2:15 p.m. on both days.

U of T returns to Varsity Centre for their home opener on Saturday, September 11 versus Queen’s. The women and men are schedule to begin at 1 and 3:15 p.m., respectively.

The 2010 CIS soccer campaign will culminate November 11-14 with the women’s national championship at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown and the men’s tournament at the University of Toronto.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)

1. Trinity Western (0-0-0) / (-)
2. Montreal (0-0-0) / (-)
3. UBC (0-0-0) / (-)
4. Queen’s (0-0-0) / (-)
5. Toronto (0-0-0) / (-)
6. York (0-0-0) / (-)
7. StFX (0-0-0) / (-)
8. UPEI (0-0-0) / (-)
9. Victoria (0-0-0) / (-)
10. Dalhousie (0-0-0) / (-)

MEN’S SOCCER
(regular season record) / (previous rankings)

1. Laval (0-0-0) / (-)
2. McGill (0-0-0) / (-)
3. Trinity Western (0-0-0) / (-)
4. Toronto (0-0-0) / (-)
5. Victoria (0-0-0) / (-)
6. Cape Breton (0-0-0) / (-)
7. UPEI (0-0-0) / (-)
8. McMaster (0-0-0) / (-)
9. UBC (0-0-0) / (-)
10. York (0-0-0) / (-)

Source: CIS