Capers look to continue hot streak at nationals

The top eight teams from across the country will gather for the single-elimination championship tournament starting today at TELUS-Université Laval Stadium in Quebec City. At the CIS championship banquet Wednesday evening, fifth-year Capers midfielder Jason Massie was recognized as a CIS First Team All-Canadian.

All 11 games from the competition will be webcast live on CIS-SIC.tv.

For the Capers, who were CIS bronze medalists a year ago, the road back to the national tournament was a winding one.

Sitting in seventh spot in the AUS standings and needing wins at home in their final two games to qualify for the post-season, the team regained its composure and not only won two, but ran off three consecutive victories in the AUS championship tournament to win their third title in the past six years.

The Capers were crowned AUS champions on Sunday after defeating the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in a 2-0 shutout win in Charlottetown, P.E.I.

“It was a season, a weekend of adversity,” said head coach Robbie Chiasson in a release. “We were confident in our own abilities. We had a dressing room full of winners who deserved this title.

“To see our team fall down a man in Game 1, then again in the semis with 20 minutes to play against (Saint Mary’s) and to pull out three victories in three days — unbelievable,” he said. “It just adds to the legacy to the boys wearing our colours and our program.”

Chiasson said the Capers will bottle their emotion and will push on toward the ultimate goal of medalling at this weekend’s tourney.

Today’s game against Carleton starts at 12 p.m. Atlantic time.