GUELPH, Ont. – With the fall semester heading into the home stretch, we have four Gryphon varsity teams competing in their respective national championships in this second week of November. For the first time in University of Guelph history, both the Gryphons women's and men's soccer teams will compete at a national championship in the same year. The Gryphons women's soccer team is in Vancouver, while the Gryphons men's soccer team is in Victoria, with both teams looking to capture what would be the first national title in program history. The Gryphons cross country teams make the short trip down to Hamilton for the 2026 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 14. While the Gryphons men's lacrosse team makes their way to Ottawa as they look to win their second consecutive national championship as they get set to compete at the 2026 Baggataway Cup. See below for more information on all of the Gryphon teams in postseason action this week.
MEN'S LACROSSE
2026 Baggataway Cup
Thursday, November 12 – Saturday, November 14, 2026
Gee-Gees Field | Ottawa, ON | Hosted by Ottawa
Live Stream
The Gryphons enter this year's Baggataway Cup as the reigning champions after booking their spot to the championship tournament in Ottawa with a win last week in the play-in game when Guelph beat the Toronto Varsity Blues. Guelph will look to go back-to-back in search of their 7th Baggataway Cup in program history. The Gryphs will open their championship defence on Thursday evening (Nov. 12) when they take on Trent Excalibur in their quarterfinal matchup at 5pm. The winner will advance to Friday evening's semifinal (Nov. 13) with the McGill Redbirds awaiting in the wings after earning a bye into the semis. The championship game will take place on Saturday afternoon at 2pm from Gee-Gees Field. It is win or go home at men's lacrosse nationals, with no consolation side of the bracket. More information of the Baggataway Cup can be
found here.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
2026 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championship
Thursday, November 12 – Sunday, November 15, 2026
Thunderbird Stadium | Vancouver, BC | Hosted by UBC
Watch live on CBC Sports digital platforms
The Gryphons women's soccer are back at the U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championships for a second consecutive year, after earning a spot at nationals thanks to a second consecutive OUA silver medal finish at the conference level. The Gryphons enter this year's national championship tournament as the No. 4-seed in the eight-team field, following an amazing regular season campaign that saw the Gryphons make program history with the first ever undefeated regular season with a perfect 12-0-0 record. In the OUA playoffs, the Gryphons defeated Western and Nipissing, before falling just short to Ottawa in the OUA gold medal game. At nationals in Vancouver, the Gryphons will begin play on Thursday (Nov. 12) in the U SPORTS quarterfinals, when they take on Atlantis (AUS) champions, the Dalhousie Tigers. Kickoff from Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver is scheduled for 6pm (ET) with the winner advancing to take on the winner of Laval/UBC in Friday's national semifinal scheduled for 8:30pm (ET). This marks the sixth time in program history in which the Gryphons women's soccer team has made it to nationals (2026, 2025, 2017, 1999, 1994 & 1991), with the best result in school history coming in 1999 when the team won a national bronze medal. Full schedule and championship info can be
found here with all 11 matches from the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Championships
streamed live online, free of charge, on CBC Sports digital platforms (CBC gem, CBC Sports YouTube, cbc.ca).
MEN'S SOCCER
2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship
Thursday, November 12 – Sunday, November 15, 2026
Centennial Stadium | Victoria, BC | Hosted by University of Victoria
Watch live on CBC Sports digital platforms
For the first time since the 2021 season, the Gryphons men's soccer team has earned a spot at the U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships. The Gryphons make their way to Vancouver Island in pursuit of their first national championship in program history. Guelph comes into the national championship tournament as the No. 8-seed in the eight-team field, thanks to an amazing OUA playoff run that end with the Gryphons earning OUA silver medals. The Gryphons picked up three road playoff wins in the OUA postseason, with a road win at Waterloo followed by a memorable upset of the reigning national champion York Lions, as well as a road win in penalties over Ontario Tech. The Gryphons fell just short in the OUA gold medal game at TMU. Now, the Gryphons turn their attention to the national stage, where they will face the No. 1-ranked team in the country in the Canada West champions, the UBC Thunderbirds. The U SPORTS quarterfinals matchup between Guelph and UBC is set to kickoff on Thursday (Nov. 12) from Centennial Stadium in Victoria at 6:30pm (ET). The winner of this quarterfinal matchup will face the winner of McGill/Victoria in the Friday's semifinal scheduled for 9:15pm (ET). Full schedule and championship info can be
found here with all 11 matches being
streamed free of charge, live online on CBC Sports digital platforms.
CROSS COUNTRY
2026 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships
Saturday, November 14, 2026
Christie Lake Conservation Area | Hamilton, ON | Hosted by McMaster
Men's 8km Race – 12pm ET | Women's 8km Race – 1pm ET
Watch live on CBC Sports digital platforms
The Gryphons cross country teams return to Hamilton where they had success earlier in the season when they compete at the 2026 U SPORTS Cross Country Championships from Hamilton on Saturday, Nov. 14. The Gryphon men are coming off a silver medal placing at OUA's while the women took home a bronze medal at the provincial championships back on October 31. This year's national championship races are taking place at Christie Lake Conservation Area and the Gryphons return after a success meet at the Marauder Lakefront Open on October 16 where the women's team took home the team title and the men's team finishing in 2nd in the team standings.
The men's team is led by
Jack Lehto who has had a sensational 2026 season. Lehto has won all three of his cross country meets this season including the Marauder Lakefront Open and taking home the OUA's individual championship at the provincial meet. Jack will look to cap off his outstanding season at nationals, with mechanical engineering major from Burlington having impressed at nationals each of the past two seasons, with Lehto having earned U SPORTS All-Canadian status in back-to-back seasons.
Luke Feltham is coming off an impressive showing at the 2026 OUA Cross Country Championships where he won individual bronze. Feltham, a biochemistry major from Stratford, is now in his third year with the program and back in 2024 as a freshman was named the OUA Rookie of the Year. The men head to Hamilton in search of what would be the 17th U SPORTS banner in program history, with the last national title for the Gryphons men's cross country team coming back in 2017. The Gryphons men's cross country team was ranked No. 3 in the final installment of the U SPORTS Top 10 cross country rankings back on Nov. 3.
On the women's side,
Alexandra McDougall will look to return to the national podium for a second consecutive year after finishing off her impressive 2025 season with an individual bronze medal, crossing the line in 3rd-place at nationals last year. This season, McDougall earned OUA All-Star status for a second consecutive season following her 8th-place finish at OUA's. Alongside McDougall,
Michelle Gray is also a two-time OUA All-Star after barely missing out on a podium finish at this year's OUA's, crossing the line in 4th-place in the provincial championships. Gray is an experienced runner for the Gryphons who will compete in her fifth U SPORTS Cross Country Championship. The women will look to win their 14th national championship, with the last national title for the Gryphons women's cross country team coming back in 2016. The Gryphons women's cross country team was ranked No. 5 in the final installment of the U SPORTS Top 10 cross country rankings back on Nov. 3.
The women's 8km race gets underway at 12pm, followed by the men's 8km race at 1pm, with both available, free of charge, online on CBC's digital platforms (CBC gem, CBC Sports YouTube, cbc.ca).
