GUELPH, Ont. - On Monday, September 4, 2023, the University of Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team will return to the OUA pitch as they kickoff the 2023 regular season on the road against the Western Mustangs.
The 2023 season will be the first time in four years in which the number of games each team will play in the OUA regular season will remain unchanged from the year prior, with the Gryphons set to compete in a 12-game regular season schedule in 2023. A total of 18 men's soccer programs from across the province will compete for a spot into the 2023 OUA postseason, with 12 total teams earning the right to extend their 2023 seasons.
For the Gryphons, who will once again be competing in the OUA's West Division, they will have their eyes set on one of the six available playoff spots in the division. The top two seeds from each division at the end of the regular season will earn byes into the quarterfinal round on October 25, while the No. 3 and No. 6-seeds will do battle along with the No. 4 and No. 5-seeds for the right to survive and advance. The OUA men's soccer season reaches its culmination on November 4, 2023 when the conference champion will be crowned. For the two teams featured in the OUA championship match, their season will continue on to the national level as the OUA representatives at the 2023 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships, which will be held in Sydney, Nova Scotia (Nov. 9-12, 2023) and hosted by Cape Breton University.
"We are very optimistic heading into the 2023 season with this core," says Gryphons men's soccer head coach,
Keith Mason, who enters his 24th season in charge of the University of Guelph men's soccer program. "With the caliber of talent and depth that is featured on this team, a top finish in the standings and deep playoff run are definitely our goals. Despite losing some very impactful players this offseason, we are feeling very good about the ability of our returning players to step into those roles and help lead this team forward. We have an extremely talented group that has been working hard this offseason and we are excited to see how this team can represent the Gryphons within the conference and on the national stage."
Forwards
After finishing fourth in the conference in goals scored in 2022, the Gryphon attack in 2023 will be looking to build upon that impressive form, this time being led by a pair of strong, young strikers in
Leo Shrimpton and
Yuki Ibie. Shrimpton, a 5-foot-11 Toronto native, returns for his sophomore year with the Gryphons after impressing throughout the 2022 OUA season, followed by a strong 2023 club season this past summer with Guelph United. The arts major appeared in nine games for the Gryphons in 2022, starting in three of them. Despite coming off the bench for the majority of the season in 2022, Shrimpton was able to be highly effective in his role, scoring 4 goals, including a match-winner in the team's final regular season game against the Windsor Lancers.
Yuki Ibie, meanwhile, is a 6-foot-2 forward entering his third year with the program. Ibie has showcased both speed and skill in limited action with the Gryphons and will see plenty of opportunity in 2023. The biological and pharmacuetical chemistry major from Caledon has appeared in 10 games for the Gryphons, recording 4 starts and 7 total shots.
Midfielders
The Gryphon midfield in 2023 will feature a pair of third-year student-athletes looking to fill the gap left following the departure of perennial conference All-Star and former All-Canadian,
Jack Sears.
Parmpreet Johal, a 5-foot-8 sociology major from Brampton, Ontario, has put together a strong career since arriving on U of G campus, appearing in 21 total games and starting 18, including starting 12 regular season games for the Gryphons in 2022. Last season, Johal scored a pair of goals and picked up two assists while taking the second-most shots on the team with 21. The junior has three career OUA goals to his name, two of which are match-winners. Another familiar face to the Gryphon midfield returning to the squad in 2023 is
Gray Yates. Yates, a 6-foot local product, has 19 career games under his belt. The sport and event management major also has 12 career shots, and 3 goals which include one game-winner.
Defenders
Defensively, the Gryphons have a strong returning back line in 2023, led by
Cole Fernandez and
Harvey Marchant. Fernandez, a fourth-year centre back from Hamilton, comes into 2023 as one of the Gryphons more experienced defenders having played in 16 regular season games during his Gryphon career. The sociology major has started in 14 of those games and has demonstrated his ability to contribute at both ends of the pitch as well, scoring three career goals, two of which were game-winners.
Harvey Marchant, meanwhile, returns for his third season of on-field action with the Gryphons (fourth-year academically) to help solidify the Gryphon back line. The Fleet, England native is also a very experienced athlete, playing in 20 career OUA games, starting 16. The human kinetics major was named an OUA West All-Star in 2021, and has also excelled off the field throughout his time at the University of Guelph.
Harvey Marchant was named the recipient of the OUA Community Service Award in 2021, and that same season, was named the University of Guelph's President's Trophy recipient as the top male student-athlete across all sports when it comes to excelling both athletically and academically.
Goalkeepers
The Gryphons are glad to welcome
Carter Robart back to the net after a strong first season as the starting goalkeeper in 2022.
Robart, a 6-foot-2 native of New Dundee, Ontario started nine games last season after taking over the starting gloves from OUA All-Star, Svyatoslav Artemenko. In his nine starts, the third-year history major posted a 1.06 goals against average and .727 save percentage while helping the Gryphons to a 4-1-4 record which included four clean sheets. Robart is also coming off a summer where he continued to gain valuable experience playing with Guelph United. Robart headlines a 2023 edition of a Gryphons goalkeeping unit that features plenty of depth and talent.
The Gryphons men's soccer team will kickoff the 2023 OUA regular season on Labour Day Monday (Sept. 4, 2023) with a road game in London against the Mustangs set for a 7:30pm start. The team will play in their home opener just six days later when they host the Mustangs at the Gryphon Soccer Complex on Sunday, September 10 with the game set to get underway at 3:15pm.
