GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons are set to take to the pitch to kickoff the 2026 OUA men's soccer season on Saturday, August 29 with a home matchup against the Algoma Thunderbirds. The Gryphons will look to build upon their playoff appearence in 2025 as head coach
Alan Koch enters his second season in charge of the University of Guelph men's soccer program.
The format of a 12-game OUA regular season schedule remains the same from last year, with a total of 18 teams from across Ontario split into two divisions, with the top six teams in each division qualifying for the OUA postseason. The Gryphons will compete out of the OUA West division with the top two teams receiving byes into the OUA quarterfinals on October 24, while the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds will matchup along with the No. 4 and No. 5-seeds in the preliminary round on October 21. The OUA semifinal stage on October 31 will see the OUA East and West divisions cross-over and play one another with the winners facing off in the conference championship game taking place on November 7. All OUA postseason games are a single knockout match for the right to advance. The 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships will take place in Victoria, BC with the University of Victoria hosting the national championship tournament from November 12-15.
"I'm excited with the group we put together and looking forward to seeing them grow as we go throughout the year. We feel like we have a squad that should be competitive in every match in what is a very balanced OUA West division," says Gryphons head coach
Alan Koch. See below for more information on the 2026 edition of the University of Guelph men's soccer team.
Forwards
The Guelph front line is led by fifth-year forward,
Ambrose Tinmouth, a 22-year-old from Comox, BC who returns for his senior season as a Gryphon. Tinmouth is one of the most versatile players on the roster, finding the net three times in his 9 games played last season.
Nico Alfieri made an impact as a rookie a season ago, tallying 4 points and scoring 3 goals as the 6-foot-1 forward from Milton now returns for his sophomore season with the Gryphons.
Julian Boscariol also made an immediate impact in his first season in Guelph as the team's Rookie of the Year. The 5-foot-11 forward saw plenty of action in his first year, starting in 10 of his team's games and scoring two goals to go along with his two assists in 2025. Third-year sport and event management major Aiden O'Keefe makes the transition to forward for the 2026 season. Local products
Ethan Fraser and Liam Stupak are both back with the team, with Stupak entering his second-year and Fraser entering his third-year. Both will feature out wide and play on the wings for the upcoming season.
Midfield
Third-year standout midfielder
Fergus Pender returns to the Gryphon midfield heading into the new season. Pender is a reliable and integral part of the team, helping link the defence and attack. The management economics and finance major from Ottawa appeared in all of his team's matches last season, earning the first OUA All-Star selection of his career after earning a spot on the OUA Second Team.
Jacob Cabral (Mississauga, ON) enters his fourth-year with the Gryphons as a key member in the midfield. The anthropology major was named to the U SPORTS All-Rookie team back in 2023 and was an OUA Second Team All-Star in 2024. Cabral also spent some time this past offseason training with Inter Toronto of the Canadian Premier League (CPL).
Dominic Suriano will help handle the defensive midfield role as he heads into his third-year at Guelph.
Defence
Peter Bandula returns for his third-year to solidify the Gryphon backline. The 6-foot-5 defender has become one of the top defenders in the OUA, playing an important role on defence for the Gryphons as his side conceded just 16 goals and had five clean sheets a season ago. Bandula, alongside his teammate
Fergus Pender, was recently part of a Scrosoppi FC side that were crowned champions of OPL 1.
Travis Larmour will play alongside Bandula at centre back as the second-year criminal justice and public policy major saw plenty of action a season ago, appearing in 10 games for the Gryphons in 2025.
Jordan Rioux provides plenty of versatility for the Gryphons and enters his third season, playing both leftback and midfield. Local product
Omar Ladhani also returns, providing versatility from the backline with time spent at both centre back and defensive midfield.
Goalkeepers
The Gryphon goalkeeping room will be led by fifth-year goalie
Carter Robart. Robart was an OUA Second Team All-Star back in 2023 and started in all 12 of his team's games last season, posting 5 clean sheets. The history major from New Dundee, ON, went to Cavalry FC of the CPL on trial in the offseason and now returns from injury to lead the Gryphons in net.
Liam Glas, a real estate major from Toronto, also returns to the Gryphons and enters his second season with the program.
Rookies and New Additions
The Gryphons men's soccer program sees 12 new rookies and additions join the squad heading into the 2026 season. Goalkeeper Killian Hughes and midfielder Luca Gogic join the team from Guelph alongside forward
Jayden Nyagomo (Mississauga, ON) and defenders
Colton Campbell (London, ON) and
Ewan Williams (Eden Hills, ON) from the high school ranks. Joining the Gryphons from the NCAA Division I are ranks are defender Anthony DeCoteau and
Sherwin Chen from Mount St. Mary's and defender
Elijah Caparello-Wanless from Robert Morris. Also arriving to Guelph from USA is
Nicholas Dunn, a JUCO transfer. Three new additions from Atlantic Canada arrive at Guelph this season, with a pair of UPEI transfers in defender
Joash Bouchard and forward
Jahmal Boursiquot, as well as StFX transfer Noah Macintryre (midfield).
Kickoff for the Gryphons season opener is set for 8:15pm on Saturday, August 29 from the Gryphon Soccer Complex where they will host the Algoma Thunderbirds.
