Wikipedia

2023 Challenge Trophy

The 2023 Challenge Trophy (French: Trophée Challenge 2023, part of the Toyota National Championships for sponsorship reasons) was the 99th edition of the Challenge Trophy, an annual cup competition contested by amateur teams in men's Canadian soccer. Ten teams participated in the tournament, which took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 4–9 October 2023.[1]

2023 Challenge Trophy
French: Trophée Challenge 2023
2023 Toyota National Championships
French: Championnats nationaux Toyota 2023
Tournament details
CountryCanada
Dates4–9 October 2023
Teams10
Defending championsOntario Soccer Association Ottawa Gloucester Celtic
Final positions
ChampionsOntario Soccer Association West Ottawa Warriors
Runner-upSoccer Nova Scotia Western Halifax FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played25
Goals scored90 (3.6 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Surrey BB5 United Farivar Torabi
FC Winnipeg Lions Montassar Trimech
(4 goals)
Best playerWest Ottawa Warriors Javane Henry
← 2022
2024 →

The West Ottawa Warriors won the Challenge Trophy on their debut, defeating host team Western Halifax FC 1–0 in the final.[2]

Teams edit

Teams were seeded on the basis of their Provincial/Territorial Associations team’s final standing in the previous year’s championship.

Group A Group B
  Ontario   Alberta
  British Columbia   Newfoundland and Labrador
  Manitoba   Nova Scotia A
  Quebec   Prince Edward Island
  New Brunswick   Nova Scotia B

Teams edit

Each of Canada Soccer's thirteen provincial and territorial associations can send one representative to the Challenge Trophy, with teams generally qualifying through a regional preliminary series such as an open cup or league competition.[3]

For the 2023 tournament, nine provincial associations confirmed their participation, with Nova Scotia fielding two teams as the host.

Province Team Qualified as Previous appearances in tournament1 Previous best performance Ref.
  British Columbia Surrey BB5 United2 BC Soccer Adult A Cup winners 2 (2019, 2022) Champions (2019) [4]
  Alberta Edmonton Scottish Alberta Soccer Challenge Cup winners 11 (1972, 1979, 1987, 1992, 1996, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) Champions (2016) [5]
  Manitoba FC Winnipeg Lions3 Manitoba Soccer Provincial Championship winners 11 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) Champions (2002) [6]
  Ontario West Ottawa Warriors MilkUP Ontario Cup winners 0 (debut) — [7]
  Quebec Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest LSEQ league winners 1 (2022) Eighth place (2022) [8]
  New Brunswick Fredericton Picaroons Reds NBPSL Challenge Cup Final winners 9 (2007, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) Sixth place (2007, 2019) [9]
  Nova Scotia Suburban FC of Fall River Soccer Nova Scotia AAA Cup winners 1 (2011) Fifth place (2011) [10]
Western Halifax FC Soccer Nova Scotia AAA Cup runners-up 2 (2016, 2017) Champions (2017)
  Newfoundland and Labrador Feildians AA of St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador Challenge Cup winners 2 (1969, 2008) Third place (1969) [11]
  Prince Edward Island Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals PEI winners by acclamation as the only PEI team in the NB Premier League 1 (2022) Seventh place (2022) —
1 Bold indicates champion for that year.
2 Competed in previous tournaments as Central City Breakers FC.
3 Competed in previous tournaments as Winnipeg Sons of Italy.

Venues edit

Matches took place at three different venues within the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Bedford Dartmouth Halifax
Bedford-Hammond Plains Harbour East Field Mainland Common Field
Capacity: 400 Capacity: 400 Capacity: 400
 
 
3km
2miles
 
 
 

Group stage edit

Competing teams were divided into two groups of five teams, playing against one another in a single round-robin and advancing to the final round based on their group positioning.

The preliminary schedule was released by Canada Soccer in August 2023 without locations or kick-off times, which were later confirmed on 15 September.[12] Teams were given bye days based on the pot they were drawn from, with pot 1 teams receiving byes on the 5th day of the group stage, pot 2 teams receiving byes on the 4th day of the group stage, etc.

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   West Ottawa Warriors 4 3 0 1 12 4 +8 9[a] Advance to first place match — 2–1 1–0 1–3 8–0
2   Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest 4 3 0 1 10 4 +6 9[a] Advance to third place match — — — — 6–1
3   Surrey BB5 United 4 2 0 2 9 5 +4 6[b] Advance to fifth place match — 1–2 — 2–1 6–1
4   FC Winnipeg Lions 4 2 0 2 10 4 +6 6[b] Advance to seventh place match — 0–1 — — 6–0
5   Fredericton Picaroons Reds 4 0 0 4 2 26 −24 0 Advance to ninth place match — — — — —
Source: Canada Soccer
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Advance to first place match on criteria 2.1 with 2–1 win over Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest (head to head competition)
  2. ^ a b Advance to fifth place match on criteria 2.1 with 2–1 win over FC Winnipeg Lions (head to head competition)
Surrey BB5 United  2–1  FC Winnipeg Lions
  • de Jong   32'
  • MacMillan   42'
  • Morello   74'
  • O'Shea   90'
 Report
  • Figueiredo   22'   45+2'
  • Hodges   24'
  • Hidalgo-Mazzei   37' (pen.)
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mazen Hassanin
West Ottawa Warriors  2–1  Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
  • Rodriguez   31'
  • Comba   35'
  • Henry   51',   80'
 Report
  • Mathieu   10'
  • Aussems   63'
  • Assouyat   72',   90+2'
  • N'Guessan   88'
  • Turgeon   90+1'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Attendance: Mario Al-Ayass
West Ottawa Warriors  1–0  Surrey BB5 United
  • Henry   6'
  • Curkovic   18'
  • El-Shafei   86'
  • Bastianelli   90'
 Report
  • Hodut   22'
  • Essa   42'   90+2'
  • Rostant   63'
  • de Graaf   64'
  • MacMillan   69'
  • Smychenko   71'   90+5'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mo Mohseni
FC Winnipeg Lions  6–0  Fredericton Picaroons Reds
  • Nadeau   1'
  • Law   8' (o.g.)
  • Hidalgo-Mazzei   52'
  • dos Anjos Aquino   56'
  • Kabamba   70'
  • Hodges   90+1'
 Report
  • Morrison   36'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mazzen Black
West Ottawa Warriors  8–0  Fredericton Picaroons Reds
  • Belhaj   3', 5', 27'
  • Bastianelli   20', 46'
  • McKee   26'
  • Markus   73', 84'
 Report
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Aubrey Kotelko
Surrey BB5 United  1–2  Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
 Report
  • Roy-Madore   25'
  • Mathieu   32'
  • Levasseur   37'
  • N'Guessan   56'
  • Chaouki   86'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Robert D'Alesio
West Ottawa Warriors  1–3  FC Winnipeg Lions
  • Pensom   8'
  • Natoli   61'
  • Johnson   70'
  • Mohasar   90'
 Report
  • Budhoo   17',   51'
  • Wood   32'
  • Trimech   56', 74'
  • Moraldo   79'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest  6–1  Fredericton Picaroons Reds
  • Morin   11', 61' (pen.)
  • Jeanneau   32'
  • Lamontagne   44'
  • Chaouki   46'
  • Aussems   82'
  • Levasseur   84'
 Report
  • Itoafa   32' (pen.)
  • Law   41'
  • Morrison   52'   90+4'
  • Padilha   71'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Simon Gomez
Surrey BB5 United  6–1  Fredericton Picaroons Reds
  • Gindo   29'
  • Torabi   33', 71', 89'
  • Morello   41'
  • Bruk   49'
 Report
  • Pinsent   32'
  • Choudhary   85'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Scott Decker
FC Winnipeg Lions  0–1  Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest
  • Naumiuk   35'
  • Appler   45+2'   72'
  • Hidalgo-Mazzei   90'
 Report
  • N'Guessan   28'
  • Kabamba   37' (o.g.)
  • Roy-Madore   46'
  • Turgeon   59'
  • Attia   69'   89'
  • Misol Rodriguez   86'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mo Mohseni

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Western Halifax FC (H) 4 3 1 0 6 1 +5 10 Advance to first place match — — — — —
2   Suburban FC of Fall River (H) 4 2 1 1 3 2 +1 7[a] Advance to third place match 0–1 — — — 2–1
3   Edmonton Scottish 4 2 1 1 5 3 +2 7[a] Advance to fifth place match 0–0 0–1 — 2–1 3–1
4   Feildians AA of St. John's 4 1 1 2 4 6 −2 4 Advance to seventh place match 1–3 0–0 — — 2–1
5   Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals 4 0 0 4 3 9 −6 0 Advance to ninth place match 0–2 — — — —
Source: Canada Soccer
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Advance to third place match on criteria 2.1 with 0–1 win over Edmonton Scottish (head to head competition)
Edmonton Scottish  3–1  Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
  • Gajic   27'
  • MacLachlan   42'
  • MacDonald   56'
  • Borrett   66'
 Report
  • Maund   23'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda
Feildians AA of St. John's  0–0  Suburban FC of Fall River
  • Exley   26'
  • Power   88'
 Report
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Robert D'Alesio
Edmonton Scottish  2–1  Feildians AA of St. John's
  • MacDonald   20'
  • Graham   31'
  • Gazic   82'
  • McCormick   82'
  • S. Lam   90+3'
 Report
  • Neil   39'
  • Dolo   51'
  • Opuoro   78'
  • Courage   82'
  • Jones   85'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Darcy Bristol
Suburban FC of Fall River  0–1  Western Halifax FC
 Report
  • Ndopedro   3',   76'
  • Bekkers   37'
  • Bruce   62'
  • Kodejs   77'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mazen Hassanin
Edmonton Scottish  0–0  Western Halifax FC
  • Demers   90+2'
 Report
  • Ndopedro   16'
  • Iatrou   44'
  • Rodriguez   51'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Rayan Bouhlel
Feildians AA of St. John's  2–1  Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
  • Exley   9'
  • Davis   13'
  • Gamba   54'
  • Dolo   74'
  • Harvey   90+2'   90+3'
 Report
  • Hunter   29',   90+7'
  • Lasia   30'
  • VanWiechen   44'   60'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Isabelle Duclos
Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals  0–2  Western Halifax FC
Report
  • Iatrou   13'
  • Pike   44'
  • MacEachern   64' (o.g.)
  • Bekkers   74'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mario Al-Ayass
Edmonton Scottish  0–1  Suburban FC of Fall River
  • Prochnau   90+1'
 Report
  • Jaber   11',   25'
  • Mellema   67'
  • Veinot   90+4'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mo Mohseni
Feildians AA of St. John's  1–3  Western Halifax FC
  • Dolo   27'
  • Nunes   50'
  • Nakonieczny   86'
  • Gamba   87'
  • Osmond   90+2'
 Report
  • Thompson   43'
  • Hawley   45+1'
  • Kodejs   47'
  • Geyer   55',   80'
  • Ndopedro   57'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda
Suburban FC of Fall River  2–1  Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
  • Warren   9'
  • Sanchez   36'
  • Mercer   40'
 Report
  • Tweel   13'
  • Sanchez   26'
  • Smiley   81'
  • VanWiechen   90+6'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mazzen Black

Final round edit

The final round (known as Teck Finals Day for sponsorship reasons) paired equally-ranked opponents from opposite groups to determine a final ranking for the tournament.

Ninth place match
Fredericton Picaroons Reds  2–6  Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals
  • Morrison   38'
  • Cotton   58'   85'
  • Law   70'
  • Reddick-Stevens   9', 35'
  • Tweel   25', 77'
  • Smiley   54'
  • Stewart   64'
BMO Soccer Centre, Halifax
Referee: Mazen Hassanin
Seventh place match
FC Winnipeg Lions  7–2  Feildians AA of St. John's
  • dos Anjos Aquino   5'
  • Peddle   20'
  • Hodges   37'
  • Budhoo   45'
  • Figueiredo   53',   57'
  • Trimech   65', 79'
  • Nakonieczny   26'
  • Nunes   29'
  • Gamba   67'
  • Jones   90+2'
Harbour East Field, Dartmouth
Referee: Mazzen Black
Fifth place match
Surrey BB5 United  3–2  Edmonton Scottish
  • Torabi   51'
  • Essa   54',   81'
  • Morello   76'
  • Gazic   48', 59'
  • MacLachlan   74'
Harbour East Field, Dartmouth
Referee: David Schmidt-Schweda
Third place match
Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest  2–1  Suburban FC of Fall River
  • Roy-Madore   23'
  • Chaouki   56'
  • Misol Rodriguez   70'
  • Lamontagne   85'
 Report
  • Larsen   24'
  • Greedy   53'
  • Warren   55'
  • Veinot   56'
  • Taylor   72'
  • Bain   90+6'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Robert D'Alesio
Final
West Ottawa Warriors  1–0  Western Halifax FC
  • Henry   19'
  • El-Shafei   41',   42'
  • Rodriguez   72'
  • Mohasar   84'
 Report
  • Geyer   46'
  • Ellis   63'
  • Gorski   90+1'
Mainland Common Field, Halifax
Referee: Mario Al-Ayass

Statistics edit

Classification edit

Per statistical convention in football, matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Final position
1 A   West Ottawa Warriors 5 4 0 1 13 4 +9 12 Champions
2 B   Western Halifax FC (H) 5 3 1 1 6 2 +4 10 Runners-up
3 A   Rapides de Chaudière-Ouest 5 4 0 1 12 5 +7 12 Third place
4 B   Suburban FC of Fall River (H) 5 2 1 2 4 4 0 7
5 A   Surrey BB5 United 5 3 0 2 12 7 +5 9
6 B   Edmonton Scottish 5 2 1 2 7 6 +1 7
7 A   FC Winnipeg Lions 5 3 0 2 17 6 +11 9
8 B   Feildians AA of St. John's 5 1 1 3 6 13 −7 4
9 B   Winsloe-Charlottetown Royals 5 1 0 4 9 11 −2 3
10 A   Fredericton Picaroons Reds 5 0 0 5 4 32 −28 0
Source: Canada Soccer
(H) Hosts

Goalscorers edit

There were 90 goals scored in 25 matches, for an average of 3.6 goals per match.

4 goals

  •   Farivar Torabi
  •   Montassar Trimech

3 goals

  •   Emmanuel Dolo
  •   Malek Belhaj
  •   Jacob Tweel
  •   Wassim Chaouki

2 goals

  •   Almir Gazic
  •   Conor MacDonald
  •   Connor MacMillan
  •   Nicolas Morello
  •   Caelan Budhoo
  •   Matheus dos Anjos Aquino
  •   Aaron Hidalgo-Mazzei
  •   Stuart Hodges
  •   Michael Bastianelli
  •   Matias Markus
  •   Cohen Reddick-Stevens
  •   Jeremy Morin
  •   Julien Roy-Madore

1 goal

  •   Stefan Gajic
  •   Morgan Graham
  •   Dexter MacLachlan
  •   Yigal Bruk
  •   Marcel de Jong
  •   Yassin Essa
  •   Elie Gindo
  •   Hugo Figueiredo
  •   Balex Kabamba
  •   Nicolas Nadeau
  •   Elliott Peddle
  •   Shreyansh Choudhary
  •   David Itoafa
  •   Benjamin Law
  •   Kenneth Morrison
  •   Taj Exley
  •   Nicholas Jones
  •   Alexandre Nunes
  •   Ian Greedy
  •   Moe Jaber
  •   Ignacio Sanchez
  •   William Warren
  •   Isaac Geyer
  •   Joseph Iatrou
  •   Shawn Kodejs
  •   Jared Ndopedro
  •   Benjamin Thompson
  •   Ricky Comba
  •   Braden Curkovic
  •   Javane Henry
  •   Owen McKee
  •   Marco Natoli
  •   Zach El-Shafei
  •   Charlie Hunter
  •   Max Maund
  •   Sam Smiley
  •   Andrew Stewart
  •   Francis Assouyat
  •   Bastien Aussems
  •   Christophe Lamontagne
  •   Gabriel Levasseur

1 own goal

References edit

  1. ^ "Canada Soccer Announces Hosts of the 2022–24 Toyota National Championships". ontariosoccer.com. Ontario Soccer Association. March 22, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2022. In 2023, the U-15 Cup will be held in Waterloo Region, ON, the U-17 Cup in Moncton, NB, and the Jubilee/Challenge Trophy competitions in Halifax, NS.
  2. ^ Cleary, Martin (October 10, 2023). "HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: West Ottawa Warriors win Canadian men's amateur soccer title, Javane Henry takes MVP". OttawaSportsPages.ca. Retrieved October 11, 2023. On the heels of Ottawa St. Anthony reaching the 2019 Canadian men's championship final and the Gloucester Celtic winning the 2022 Challenge Trophy, the West Ottawa Soccer Club Warriors stepped up on Thanksgiving Monday and emerged as champions in their first attempt at the Toyota National Championship. A late first-half goal by midfielder Zach El-Shafei and the shutout goaltending of Anton Favre allowed the Warriors to blank Western Halifax FC 1-0 at the Mainland Commons in Halifax in the 99th playing of the national men's championship.
  3. ^ a b "Competition Regulations for the National Club Championships 2021" (PDF). canadasoccer.com. Canadian Soccer Association. pp. 2, 10–11. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Adult Provincial Championships Day 1 Recap". BC Soccer. April 29, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023. Finally, the day ended with the much anticipated Men's A Cup final, a matchup between two familiar foes. It was a tightly contested battle, with both teams playing tough defense and looking for their chances on the counterattack. But it was the BB5 who managed to find the back of the net late in the game, securing a 1-1 tie and taking the championship after winning in the kicks from the penalty mark.
  5. ^ Edmonton Scottish Soccer Club [@EDMscottish] (August 21, 2023). "A 99' extra time winner from Noah Cunningham vs @GreenGoldSoccer in the @AlbertaSoccer Challenge Cup Final has sent us through to the @CanadaSoccerNC in Halifax this October! Final score 1-0" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Senior Men's MSA CUP". score7.io. Score7. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  7. ^ "West Ottawa Wins Men's Milkup Ontario Cup Title in Sudden Death Showdown". Ontario Soccer Association. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023. It was a picture-perfect night at the Ontario Soccer Centre on Sunday with a colourful sunset setting the scene for the Men's 2023 MilkUP Ontario Cup Final. West Ottawa Warriors MP was victorious in the match, beating Scarborough G.S United 6-5 after a penalty shootout that went to sudden death.
  8. ^ "Les Rapides atteignent les championnats canadiens" [Rapids reach the Canadian Championships]. Le Journal de Lévis (in French). August 29, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023. Avec cette victoire par la marque de 4 à 1, les Lévisiens ont assuré leur place au championnat canadien, qui aura lieu en octobre. [With their 4–1 victory, the Lévisiens secured their place in the Canadian Championships, which will take place in October.]
  9. ^ Fredericton Picaroons Reds [@PicaroonsSoccer] (August 12, 2023). "Doesn't get old! @SoccerNB Champions! Heading to Halifax in October! @CanadaSoccerEN" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Soccer Nova Scotia [@SoccerNS] (August 11, 2023). "(...) Congratulations to @suburbanfc AAA Men, our 2023 Champions (...)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Cleary, Ben (August 14, 2023). "Holy Cross and Fieldians claim women's and men's provincial senior soccer titles". Newfoundland Television. Retrieved August 14, 2023. Feildians Athletic Association are the new champions of the Johnson Insurance Challenge Cup. Feildians defeated Holy Cross 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Topsail Field. The game was scoreless through 90 minutes of regulation time, which triggered 30 minutes of overtime. Finley Manning of Feildians got the game winner near the end of the first 15 minutes, and the team held the lead through the remainder of the game. Feildians goalkeeper Sam Hawco received the Gerard Quirke Award as MVP of the playoffs. Both teams will now represent the province at the Toyota National Challenge Trophy championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia over the Thanksgiving weekend.
  12. ^ "Challenge Trophy: Teams and Schedule for the 2023 Toyota National Championships". Canada Soccer. September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 15, 2023. Ten men's adult teams will compete at Canada Soccer's 2023 Toyota National Championships for the Challenge Trophy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The 10 teams will play 25 matches from 4 to 9 October 2023 with most of the matches played at Halifax Commons. The men's Final will be played Monday 9 October at Mainland Commons 2 with a 12.30 local kick off (11.30 ET / 08.30 PT).

External links edit

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023_Challenge_Trophy&oldid=1224069304"