HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Ottawa playing host to Canadian amateur men’s, women’s soccer championships for first time

By Martin Cleary

To reach the heart of this story, we need to take a little, jagged historical journey to the past.

In 1980, the Maple Leaf Almrausch soccer club won the silver medal at the Canadian amateur men’s soccer championship. That result was a milestone moment for soccer in Ottawa.

The only German club in the region (it’s located east of Ottawa in Carlsbad Springs) achieved another major step in its history in 2022, when a double soccer pitch embraced by a thick forest opened on its grounds.

The lighted, FIFA-approved artificial turf stadium and the natural grass field is called the Julian de Guzman Park, which was named after one of Canada’s greatest players.

de Guzman’s career as a player took him around the world, including two final seasons (2015-16) with the Ottawa Fury. But in 2021 at age 40, he came out of retirement during the COVID-19 pandemic to help the Gloucester Celtic FC win its Ontario Cup championship.

While de Guzman then pursued the administrative side of soccer, the Celtic continued its charge to become one of the men’s premier amateur soccer teams in Canada. Since 2013, the Celtic have made five appearances in the last 11 Canadian championship tournaments and each time they earned a medal – three national titles (2013, 2022 and 2024), a silver medal (2025) and a bronze medal (2016). Celtic also has won six Ontario Cup gold medals (2013, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025).

Celtic is aiming to contend for another national medal on Thanksgiving Monday and de Guzman will have a presence, of sorts, as the host team will fittingly play all its games at Julian de Guzman Park. Celtic plays its home games at Julian de Guzman Park.

In the past, the Celtic qualified for the biggest and oldest national men’s amateur soccer championship by winning the Ontario Cup title. But this season, Celtic was eliminated in the semifinals 3-1 by eventual champion Panathinaikos Toronto FC.

Celtic, however, will be in the national championship men’s draw as it plays host to the highlight competition for men’s amateur soccer Oct. 8-12.

Nine men’s teams will play for the Challenge Trophy, while eight women’s clubs will aim for the Jubilee Trophy.

The Ottawa Gloucester Hornets, which lost their first and only women’s game in the Ontario Cup, will compete as hosts in the national women’s amateur championship also at Julian de Guzman Park.

Men’s and women’s games also will be contested at Matt Anthony Field on the campus of the University of Ottawa.

This will be the first time Ottawa has played host to the men’s and women’s amateur soccer championships. The men’s Challenge Trophy started in 1913 and the women’s first national tournament was in 1982.

The men’s championship medallists will be determined using a new format. The nine teams have been divided into three groups of three. The winner of each group qualifies for the playoffs and is guaranteed a medal.

The group winner with the best first-place record, which will be determined by a tie-breaking formula, will directly advance to the championship final Oct. 12. The other two first-place clubs will meet in a semifinal to determine the other finalist.

The Celtic will play CS Trident – Ouest de Quebec on Oct. 8 and Winnipeg Luciana FC on Oct. 9 in its group.

The Hornets will take on CS LaSalle on Oct. 8 and Edmonton Northwest United Oct. 9 for its two preliminary games.

IMPRESSIVE START FOR JONATHAN DAVID WITH ATLÉTICO MADRID

Ottawa’s Jonathan David has found his scoring touch and Club Atlético de Madrid couldn’t be happier.

On loan from Juventus after a disappointing first year with the Serie A club in Italy, David quickly worked his way into the starting Madrid lineup, scored a goal in each of three La Liga games (including two game-winners), and set some club history as well.

In last weekend’s Derby against undefeated Real Madrid, David scored his third goal of the season at the 59th minute off a sliding left foot redirection from a crossing pass to give Atlético a 2-0 lead in an eventual 2-1 victory.

David became the first Atlético player to score in his league debut and in the Madrid derby this century. He also was the first Atlético player to record a goal in his first three La Liga games in this century.

In the 4-0 win over Osasuna, David registered the game-winning, opening goal. He also has one assist to his credit.

Atlético started David in its last two games and he took advantage of the opportunity as teammate Julian Alvarez was off to a slow start and Alexander Sorloth was injured.

“I love the way we (Atlético) play,” David told Sporty TV via X’s Atlético Universe. “I enjoy playing on this team because it’s just a group that loves to play football.”

David’s next league game with second-place Atlético Madrid is Oct. 10 against Alaves. Between now and then, he has been named to play in international friendlies against Chile on Saturday, Peru on Oct. 3 and the United States on Oct. 6.

GABY DABROWSKI WINS CAREER-HIGH 4TH WTA TITLE OF SEASON

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski won her career-best fourth WTA title of the season on Monday alongside women’s doubles partner Luisa Stefani, who was playing in her home country of Brazil.

Completing a weather-delayed final at the São Paulo Open, Dabrowski and Stefani earned their fourth victory of the event with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 win over U.S. players Anna Rogers and Allura Zamarripa.

The first-season teammates won titles earlier this year in Dubai, Strasbourg and Eastbourne. They were most recently semi-finalists at the U.S. Open, and also reached the semis at the Australian and French Opens and made the Wimbledon final.

GEE-GEES WOMEN’S SOCCER STAYS PERFECT, FOOTBALL LOSES FIRST GAME

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees remained undefeated in OUA women’s soccer, winning their fifth straight game 4-0 over Queen’s. Celina Bensebaa paced the Gee-Gees with three goals and Sabrina Mangiaracina added one. Laura Salgado had the one-save shutout.

Carleton split its two women’s soccer games, losing 4-3 to Nipissing University Lakers, but blanking Laurentian University Voyageurs 1-0.

After falling behind 4-0, Carleton rallied with three goals in three minutes, 33 seconds during the final five minutes, but fell one goal short. Ava Mills scored twice and Chloe Doiron had one goal.

Doiron scored the only goal against Laurentian, which didn’t have a shot on goal. Carleton’s Tyler Dukart picked up the shutout.

The Carleton men’s soccer team (3-2-1) had a prosperous weekend with shutout wins over Nipissing 2-0 and Laurentian 1-0.

Anthony Domanico and Adrijan Vranjkovic scored for the Ravens against Nipissing. Omar Darwish counted the only goal in the Laurentian game. Nathan Frans earned both shutouts.

The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees lost their first OUA football game of the season, while the Carleton University Ravens are still looking for win No. 1.

The Gee-Gees (3-1), who will travel to Kingston to play the undefeated Queen’s University Gaels (3-0) on Saturday, fell 31-28 to the University of Guelph Gryphons (2-2) at home.

Quarterback Josh Janssen completed 22 of 36 passes for 321 yards and connected for touchdowns with Robin Collioud (26 yards), Emyl Gregoire (nine yards) and Regis Kodua (58 yards). Zachary Copeland kicked field goals from 15 and 44 yards and added two converts.

Gianni Green led the Gee-Gees on defence with five tackles and one assist.

Keyshawn Reid’s 40-yard touchdown run gave Carleton (0-4) an early 7-3 advantage, but visiting Queen’s overpowered the Ravens 55-17. Placement kicker Carlton Thai had 10 points for Carleton from field goals of 22, 27 and 35 yards and one convert.

Carleton has a bye this weekend before meeting Ottawa Oct. 4 in the Panda game.

In RSEQ women’s rugby, Ottawa won by default over Bishop’s University Gaiters to improve to 4-0, while Carleton lost 89-5 to the Université de Montréal Carabins. Cailyn Legacy had the lone Ravens try.

Ottawa defeated Bishop’s 26-13 and Carleton lost 52-10 to Montreal in men’s rugby.

OLYMPIC HOPES BRONZE MEDAL FOR CASCADES’ ELI THORP

Four paddlers from three different clubs in the region represented Canada at the Olympic Hopes Regatta in Bratislava, Slovakia, gaining plenty of international experience and bringing home one medal.

Eli Thorp of the Cascades Canoe Club was the bronze medallist in the boys’ U16 canoe solo race over 5,000 metres. He finished in 27 minutes, 24.946 seconds, while Germany’s Moritz Kebelmann won in 25:45.379.

Thorp also reached the semifinals in the C1 500- and 1,000-metre events.

The Carleton Place Canoe Club pair of Roenn Hodgins (boys’ U17) and Luka Ribero (boys’ U16) formed half of Canada’ crew boat in the C4 men’s 500 metres and placed ninth. Hodgins also was ninth with Nolen Mitchell in the C2 U17 500 metres.

Rideau Canoe Club’s Mason Cobb was 29th in the boys’ kayak solo U16 5,000 metres. There were 34 finishers, nine disqualified and three didn’t finish.

CARTER DE VEER PLACES 50TH AT WORLD CYCLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Carter de Veer of Ottawa placed 50th in the men’s junior individual time trial at the world cycling championships in Montreal on Tuesday.

Starting 16th in the field of 69 riders, de Veer covered the 20.3-kilometre course in 27 minutes, 54.37 seconds, which left him 2:36.02 behind champion Benjamin Noval of Spain, who stopped in 25:17.35. De Veer averaged 43.672 kilometres an hour.

Derek Gee-West of Osgoode scratched from the mixed relay on Tuesday and the men’s elite individual time trial on Sunday because he broke several ribs in a late crash during the Grade Prix Cycliste de Montréal on Sept. 13. He also will miss Sunday’s men’s road race.

Ottawa’s Michael Woods is set to ride in his final road race for Team Canada in the men’s road race, while de Veer will take on the junior men’s road race on Thursday.

TOP-10 RESULT FOR GOLFER MICHAEL VIVONE

Royal Ottawa Golf Club’s Michael Vivone tied for eighth place at the Golf Canada Team Canada NextGen men’s selection camp at the Oviinbyrd Golf Club in Foot’s Bay, ON. He had a three-round score of 15-over-par 228 from rounds of 74-80-74.

Clubmate Chase Jerome of Ottawa was in third place after the first round, but dropped to 18th with a complete scorecard of 70-84-89 for a 228.

At the Team Canada NextGen selection camp for women in Aurora, ON, Florence Ho of Ottawa also started strong, but her consistent play left her in 12th place with a total of 78-78-80 for a 20-over-par 236. She was tied for fourth and seventh respectively, after the first and second rounds.

CANADIAN WOMEN WIN SILVER AT WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL WORLDS IN OTTAWA

The Canadian women’s wheelchair basketball team won its first seven matches of the tournament en route to a silver medal performance at the 2026 IWBF World Championships in Ottawa.

After downing Japan 88-68 and Netherlands 85-73 in the playoff round to secure their place on the podium, Canada came within one point of a gold medal with a 77-76 defeat to USA in the championship game Saturday at TD Place.

Canadian star Kady Dandeneau, who averaged over 30 points per game in the tournament, scored 34 in the final, followed by #2 overall scorer Erinn Young of Canada with a 30-point effort.

There were no athletes from Ottawa on either the Canadian men’s or women’s teams. Ottawa’s Emma Shimizu served as the women’s team’s high performance coordinator.

END NOTES

· Canada’s men’s rugby team edged the United States 19-16 to win the bronze medal at the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 in Osaka, Japan. Ottawa’s Jamie Armstrong played for Canada.

· Former University of Ottawa players Claire Gallagher and Sophie McDonald and Pamphinette Buisa of Gatineau were part of history, when Canada tied World Cup champion England 26-26 before a sold-out crowd of 14,000 during WXV Global Series Week 2 action in Exeter, England. The tie snapped England’s 39-game international win streak. The halftime score was 19-19. Canada will play England at Ottawa’s TD Place on Oct. 23.

· Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the FIFA women’s soccer U20 World Cup in Poland, after losing 2-0 to North Korea, which scored both its goals after the 90th minute. Annabelle Chukwu and Teegan Melenhorst, both of Ottawa, represented Canada in the international championship.

· Dwight Reinhart of the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club rebounded smartly from a trying first round to finish tied for 18th place at the Canadian men’s senior golf championship in Winnipeg. Reinhart opened with an 82, but surged to an eight-over-par 296 total with rounds of 70-73-71. Brent Rebus of Ottawa tied for 53rd with a 19-over-par total of 307 from rounds of 78-76-76-77.

· Brianna Dion of Ottawa and Jacob Cote of Dartmouth, N.S., placed 14th in pairs figure skating during the ISU Junior Grand Prix competition in Ankara, Turkiye. They scored 112.67 points from a short program of 39.69 points and free skating program of 72.98 points.