A moment nearly two decades in the making.
The Douglas College Royals have conquered Canada's second-highest level of university men's soccer, defeating Conestoga College on penalty kicks (1-1, 4-2) in the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA) championship match today, Nov. 11.
This is the New Westminster-based post-secondary's second CCAA banner in program history — the first since 2005 — and is a big sigh of relief after settling for silver in 2017 and 2021.
It's also the sixth national men's soccer medal for Douglas College since 2002.
The Royals' 2023 tournament results from Acumen Stadium in Windsor, Ont., were as follows:
- 1-1 (4-2 PKs) win over Conestoga College (Ont.)
- 1-0 win over St. Clair College (hosts)
- 5-0 win over Brandon University (Man.)
Douglas College was one of the favourites to win this year's championship.
The Royals, who finished with a 7-3-2 regular-season record, won the 2023 PACWEST final 2-1 on penalty kicks over Vancouver Island University (VIU) for their 10th conference banner.
Women's soccer
Meanwhile, the Royals' women's soccer won their last game of the 2023 season.
Douglas College finished with a 2-2 record to claim fifth place at its CCAA nationals in Summerland, P.E.I., beating the University of King's College 1-0 in its final match today, Nov. 11.
The women's team's results were as follows:
- 1-0 win over University of King's College (N.S.)
- 3-1 loss to Saint-Lambert (Que.)
- 2-1 win over SAIT (Alta.)
- 4-1 loss to Holland (hosts)
The lady Royals won their third PACWEST conference title in eight years to earn their spot at nationals.
The program's best CCAA championship appearance was a bronze medal in 2016.
