OTTAWA (CIS) – Varsity Blues soccer players, Kilian Elkinson and Lukas MacNaughton, will officially be a part of Team Canada's 20-man sqaud as Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Thursday the student-athletes who will represent our country in men's soccer at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea (July 3-14).
Gwangju 2015 website: www.gwangju2015.com
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2015/index
The Canadian roster is comprised of 18 CIS student-athletes and two from the NCAA. The team was selected following an extensive process which started last November at the CIS championship in Charlottetown. Selection camps attended by no less than 85 players followed in Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.
Names the 2014 OUA East MVP and a first-team all-Canadian, Elkinson completed his fifth season with Blues having lead the team and ranking first in the OUA East with 11 goals in 10 games.
MacNaughton, a sophomore defender for the Blues, earned his first OUA all-star nod this past season, helping Toronto hold oppoenents to a mere 13 goals against in 16 games.
As announced last September, Keith Mason from the University of Guelph will be Team Canada's head coach at the 28th FISU summer games. Rounding out the support staff are assistant coaches Steve Hart from the University of Windsor and Arben Mezezi of Guelph, team leader Cam Leverman from MacEwan University, as well as athletic therapist Natalie Paladino of Guelph.
"We're excited about the group that will represent Canada at the Universiade tournament," said Mason, who has been at the helm of the Guelph Gryphons for 15 years. "We have players from all four CIS conferences and a nice mix of experience and players who will get their first taste of international competition.
"We're thrilled to open the tournament against host South Korea. It will be a great experience for our student-athletes. We know we're in a tough pool but we're confident we can advance past the group stage and build on our solid result from two years ago in Russia."
No less than four veterans are back from the squad that took seventh place at the 2013 Universiade in Kazan, Russia, including defenders Nafi Dicko-Raynauld of Laval and Alexandre Haddad of Montreal, as well as midfielders Marco Visintin of UBC and Robbie Murphy of Guelph. Murphy will be making his third FISU Games appearance as he also competed at the 2011 tourney in Shenzhen.
In Gwangju, Canada will battle in pool A in the preliminary round against host South Korea, Italy and Taiwan. The detailed schedule of the 16-team tournament, which will culminate on July 13 with the gold-medal final, will be released shortly.
Canada's seventh-place finish two years ago in Kazan was the second best in program history, trailing only a historical fourth position obtained in 2007 in Bangkok. That result still stands as the best in history by a Canadian men's team at a FIFA-sanctioned event.
In Russia in 2013, Canada finished second in its pool with a 1-0-2 record and advanced to the quarter-finals, where the Canucks dropped a 4-1 decision to the hosts. The Red and White then lost 1-0 to Ukraine before defeating Malaysia 3-1 in the seventh-place match.
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
Position Name University Hometown
Goalkeeper Waleed Cassis Buffalo Ottawa, Ont.
Goalkeeper Jay Vetsch Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
Defender Nafi Dicko-Raynauld Laval Gatineau, Que.
Defender Amer Didic Baker Edmonton, Alta.
Defender Casey D'Mello York Mississauga, Ont.
Defender Bryan Fong UBC Vancouver, B.C.
Defender Alexandre Haddad Montreal Montreal, Que.
Defender Lukas MacNaughton Toronto Brussels, BelgiumDefender Justin Springer Guelph Burlington, Ont.
Midfielder Mitchell Bauche Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Sask.
Midfielder Cody Cook Mount Royal Cranbrook, B.C.
Midfielder Kilian Elkinson Toronto Toronto, Ont.Midfielder Tim Hickson Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
Midfielder Jonathan Lao York Unionville, Ont.
Midfielder Robbie Murphy Guelph Ottawa, Ont.
Midfielder Garrett Peters Saskatchewan Regina, Sask.
Midfielder Marco Visintin UBC Vancouver, B.C.
Striker Jared Agyemang Guelph Brampton, Ont.
Striker Ian Greedy Cape Breton Lower Sackville, N.S.
Striker Justin Maheu Cape Breton Gatineau, Que.
STAFF
Position Name University Hometown
Head Coach Keith Mason Guelph West Bromwich, England
Assistant Coach Steve Hart Windsor Liverpool, England
Assistant Coach Arben Mezezi Guelph Guelph, Ont.
Team Leader Cam Leverman MacEwan Prince George, B.C.
Athletic Therapist Natalie Paladino Guelph Stoney Creek, Ont.
2015 UNIVERSIADE MEN'S SOCCER DRAW:
Pool A: South Korea, CANADA, Italy, Taiwan
Pool B: France, Ukraine, Mexico, South Africa
Pool C: Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, Iran
Pool D: Russia, Ireland, Uruguay, China
CANADA'S ALL-TIME UNIVERSIADE RESULTS IN MEN'S SOCCER:
2013 (Kazan, Russia): 7th / 15 teams
2011 (Shenzhen, China): 9th / 16
2009 (Belgrade, Serbia): 12th / 16
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): 4th / 16
2003 (Daegu, South Korea): 15th / 16
1995 (Fukuoka, Japan): 16th / 16
1993 (Buffalo, USA): 16th / 16
1979 (Mexico City, Mexico): 12th / 24
