LANGLEY, British Columbia - The Trinity Western Spartans will open their pursuit of a sixth national title against the Ottawa Gee-Gees when the 2026 U SPORTS women's soccer championship begins Thursday, November 12, at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

The No. 6-seeded Spartans face No. 3 Ottawa, the Ontario University Athletics champion, at 11 a.m. (PT) / 1 p.m. (ET). UBC hosts the eight-team tournament November 12-15.

"Getting to USPORTS nationals is always an important goal for our program and something we don't take for granted. At this point in the season, you are always going to be matched up against the country's best teams, and it is a privilege to yet again be amongst that group. I am really proud of our team and the way they have handled adversity all year long, so to still be playing on the last week of the season is special." – Graham Roxburgh, TWU Head Coach

Trinity Western qualified as the Canada West bronze medallist, securing the conference's additional berth with host UBC already assured a place in the tournament. The Spartans enter nationals at 10-5-2 in Canada West regular-season and playoff matches after finishing third in the Pacific Division with an 8-4-2 conference record.

This will be TWU's 18th national championship appearance and sixth consecutive trip. The Spartans have reached 10 national finals, winning five gold medals, five silver medals, and two bronze medals. TWU captured national titles in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013, and most recently reached the championship match in 2023. Last season, the Spartans shared bronze with Laval after snow forced the cancellation of their medal match.

Thursday will mark the fourth national championship meeting between Trinity Western and Ottawa. The Spartans are 1-2 against the Gee-Gees, winning 3-0 in the 2014 semifinal before falling 2-1 in the 2018 championship match and 1-0 in the 2022 quarter-final.

TWU returned to nationals with a 2-1 overtime victory over Victoria in Friday's Canada West bronze-medal match. Fifth-year midfielder Kylie Hendricks (Maple Ridge, B.C.) scored the winner in the 96th minute after the Vikes equalized late in regulation. Fourth-year forward Luciana Andrews (Coquitlam, B.C.) opened the scoring, while fifth-year goalkeeper Yasmine Pahal (Surrey, B.C.) made four saves.

The bronze-medal victory followed a 2-1 quarter-final win at Mount Royal and a 3-0 semifinal loss to UBC.

"I can't say enough about the courage of our kids," TWU head coach Graham Roxburgh said following the bronze-medal victory.

Fifth-year forward Sophie Crowther (New Westminster, B.C.) and fourth-year forward Mansha Sidhu (Surrey, B.C.) lead the Spartans' attack after earning Canada West Pacific Division All-Star honours. Crowther tied for the conference lead with eight regular-season assists and finished with 11 points, earning her fifth consecutive conference all-star selection. Sidhu led TWU with seven goals and added two assists.

CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDINGS

Seed	Team	Qualification
1	UBC Thunderbirds	Canada West champion and tournament host
2	Montréal Carabins	RSEQ champion
3	Ottawa Gee-Gees	OUA champion
4	Guelph Gryphons	OUA finalist
5	Dalhousie Tigers	AUS champion
6	Trinity Western Spartans	Canada West bronze medallist, host berth
7	Thompson Rivers WolfPack	Canada West finalist
8	Laval Rouge et Or	RSEQ finalist

Thompson Rivers is seeded ahead of Laval under seeding principle No. 3 to avoid first-round matches between teams from the same conference.

TWU'S RECORD AGAINST THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
U SPORTS championship matches only. Records reflect tournament outcomes, including shootouts.

Opponent	TWU record
UBC Thunderbirds	0-3
Montréal Carabins	3-2
Ottawa Gee-Gees	1-2
Guelph Gryphons	0-0
Dalhousie Tigers	0-0
Thompson Rivers WolfPack	0-0
Laval Rouge et Or	4-2

Thompson Rivers is making its first national championship appearance.

QUARTER-FINAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, November 12 | Thunderbird Stadium

Match	Pacific	Eastern	Matchup
QF1	11 a.m.	1 p.m.	No. 3 Ottawa vs. No. 6 Trinity Western
QF2	1:30 p.m.	3:30 p.m.	No. 2 Montréal vs. No. 7 Thompson Rivers
QF3	4 p.m.	6 p.m.	No. 4 Guelph vs. No. 5 Dalhousie
QF4	6:30 p.m.	8:30 p.m.	No. 1 UBC vs. No. 8 Laval

Montréal receives the later afternoon-session slot as the higher seed and the team travelling furthest in that session. UBC selected the 6:30 p.m. start as tournament host.
Friday, November 13, features consolation semifinals at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. (PT), followed by championship semifinals at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. (PT). The tournament concludes Sunday, November 15, with the fifth-place match at 10 a.m., bronze-medal match at 12:30 p.m. and championship final at 4 p.m. (PT).

-TW-