Although the Guelph Gryphons will enter this week's U Sports (formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sports) men's soccer championship tournament at Alumni Stadium as top seeds, they're as relaxed as possible.
"For me, it doesn't add any other pressure," Gryphon coach Keith Mason said of the top ranking. "Whether we come in as hosts or as No. 1, it doesn't change how we prepare for the game and that's the focus for us."
Play at Alumni Stadium is to start with Thursday's quarter-finals. The Gryphs are to battle Acadia at 7 p.m. in the final match of the day. Earlier games are set for 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The Gryphs go into the national championship tournament as the Ontario University Athletics champions, a title they won last weekend by defeating the York Lions 3-1 in the final for their first provincial title since 1990.
That win by Guelph combined with York's national championship wins in 2015 and 2014 made the OUA champion Gryphs the No. 1 seeds for this year's tournament.
"I don't think it's any pressure because we know what we've achieved, we know we've been good all season and the boys are very focused," Gryphon coach Keith Mason said. "I know it's a cliche, but we're focusing on what we have to do to prepare to win a game and not the sort of frills and excitement that come around a championship such as what seed you have and everything else. They're really, really focused on wanting to win another banner."
Playing at home can also bring a few more distractions, but the Gryphs figure they have that covered, too.
"We're trying to mimic being away from home," Mason said. "(Wednesday) we'll check into the hotel, just like all the other teams, and we'll stay in the hotel until Sunday. Any midterms and any class conflicts, we've arranged with professors to work around it. If these championships would've been in B.C., that's what we would've done and that's what we've done for these ones. It's to try to take away distractions and bring home the first national title."
The Gryphs had a healthy cheering section for last weekend's OUA final at Toronto and are hoping for more at home this week.
"Home can give you distractions if you let it, but it also can give you a huge advantage. We had great support in Toronto," Mason said. "We had quite a few hundred people go up to those games. There was singing and cheering and when we scored, it was loud. Being at home now, we expect even bigger crowds and better support. That familiarity and the adrenaline you can get from the crowd can be a big advantage, too."
Other teams in the eight-team tournament, in order of seeding, are the Atlantic conference champion Cape Breton Capers (11-2-1 overall this season), Canada West conference champion Alberta Golden Bears (16-1-2), Quebec champion UQAM Citadins (8-0-6) of Montreal, Canada West finalist UBC Thunderbirds (11-2-6), Ontario finalist York (16-1-2), Ontario bronze medalist Toronto Varsity Blues (14-3-2) and Atlantic finalist Acadia Axemen (10-2-3).
Thursday's winners advance to the championship semifinals Saturday and are also guaranteed of playing for a medal Sunday.
Saturday's semifinals are to go at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday's schedule includes the bronze-medal match at 11 a.m. and the championship final at 2 p.m.
