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Canada News.Net
2 days ago
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Lions-Alouettes a battle of top offense vs. top defense
(Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images) The B.C. Lions' No. 1 offense meets the visiting Montreal Alouettes' No. 1 defense on Saturday night in Vancouver. The Lions (4-5) are averaging 420.9 yards per game, more than 20 yards better than the runner-up Saskatchewan Roughriders entering Week 11. The Alouettes (5-4) are allowing 327.0 yards per game, more than 20 yards fewer than the runner-up Roughriders. The advantage went to B.C. during the first meeting in Montreal on July 5, with the Lions racking up 431 yards and winning 21-20 on Sean Whyte's 43-yard field goal as time expired. Nathan Rourke threw for 352 yards and a touchdown and also rushed for a score and Justin McInnis hauled in six passes for 109 yards to lead the Lions. Montreal did manage to limit James Butler, who entered this week as the CFL's leading rusher (704 yards), to just 41 yards on 12 carries. The Lions are coming off an emotional 41-38 overtime win at Hamilton last weekend. B.C. overcame a late 35-31 deficit and won it on White's 19-yard field goal. First-year B.C. head coach Buck Pierce said his team is still learning what it takes to get better and not have to play from behind. 'I think I've seen some growth, and I've seen some guys, some light bulbs start to come on a bit, which is good,' Pierce said, per TSN. 'But we need to just continue to lift the group up, and everybody else gets to that level.' The Alouettes have lost two in a row, including a 23-22 setback to Edmonton last weekend as Montreal could not hold a 19-11 lead entering the fourth quarter. Montreal head coach Jason Maas turns to reserve quarterback Caleb Evans this week with both Davis Alexander and backup McLeod Bethel-Thompson on the six-game injured list. 'We've won games with backups here, with guys that are second- and third-string quarterbacks here over the last three years,' Maas said, per TSN. 'We did it already this year, we've done it with a backup quarterback. '... So you ask me where my belief comes from, it's been shown. We've won games, and that's all I need to see.' Montreal signed American quarterback Cameron Dukes on Wednesday. He passed for 2,204 yards with nine TDs and nine interceptions in 36 games with the Toronto Argonauts from 2023-24.
Canada News.Net
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Whitecaps expect high-scoring match at San Jose
(Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images) The Vancouver Whitecaps have bolstered their Western Conference championship hopes by signing German legend Thomas Muller. However, Muller won't make his debut until later this month so the Whitecaps will look to excel without him when they visit the struggling San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. Vancouver (13-5-6, 45 points) sits one point behind San Diego FC in the West -- though with one match in hand -- and club brass hopes Muller can push them over the top. Muller is thinking the same way. 'I saw some videos of the previous games and I think this year can be something special,' Muller said. 'I want to take my part.' The speculation mill points to Aug. 17 as Muller's debut. That happens to be the Whitecaps' next home match, against the Houston Dynamo. Saturday's match is the first for Vancouver since it beat visiting Sporting Kansas City 3-0 on July 26. All-Star goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka raised his league-best clean sheet count to 11. Whitecaps coach Jesper Sorensen sees the possibility of a wide-open match against the Earthquakes. 'They're very aggressive in their defensive style of play, going very high, playing man-to-man, very open and we can see a lot of goals in their games,' Sorensen said. 'We like to play a game that's a little bit more closed and play closer to each other, but they want the pitch to be longer for some of their offensive players... 'It's going to be a challenge. An away game in San Jose is difficult.' San Jose (7-10-8, 29 points) has lost consecutive matches and is winless (0-3-4) in its last seven MLS matches. Despite the slump, the Earthquakes are one point out of a playoff spot with nine matches left in the regular season. San Jose fell 2-1 at host Real Salt Lake in its last match on July 26. Team captain Cristian Espinoza said returning to the team's early-season form is a must. 'Everyone has to step up a little bit more in the team, including myself,' said Espinoza, who is tied for second in the league with 12 assists. 'We have to try to do things better and go back to the basics -- and go back to how we played at the beginning of the season with that intensity.' Cristian 'Chicho' Arango leads the Quakes with 11 goals and fellow forward Josef Martinez has 10. San Jose coach Bruce Arena said his squad will be able to bounce back. 'These are professional athletes and coaches competing in a game,' Arena said. 'This is what we do for a living, and we know how to deal with it.'
Canada News.Net
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Sporting KC puts slim playoff chances on the line vs. San Diego FC
(Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images) Sporting Kansas City will try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive when they host Western Conference-leading San Diego FC on Saturday night. Kansas City (6-12-6, 24 points) is six points behind the ninth and final playoff position in the West with 10 matches remaining. The club's last match was a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 26, its third consecutive winless result (0-2-1). SKC's 45 goals allowed are the 4th-highest total in MLS. They hope that center back Alan Montes, brought in on loan from Club Necaxa in Liga MX, can help in that regard. 'I'm a player who maintains a lot of order in the defensive zone,' Montes said, according to the Kansas City Star. 'That's what I'm looking for in this team, to establish order above all else, and for the team to become solid in defense.' Despite a 2-0 win over Mazatlan on Tuesday, San Diego (14-7-4, 46 points) failed to advance past the group stage of Leagues Cup thanks to earlier losses to Liga MX sides Pachuca and Tigres UANL. That's been one of the few missteps for the first-year outfit, which holds a one-point lead over the Whitecaps for first place in the West -- though Vancouver has a match in hand. San Diego's last MLS match, a 1-0 win over Nashville SC on July 25, saw Andres Dreyer extend his league-leading assist total to 16. 'Our feeling is that we're going to face kind of like a mid-low block team that's going to look to counterattack us, catch us on set pieces,' San Diego head coach Mikey Varas said of Kansas City. 'But we'll be ready for whatever because we've had other teams that have that kind of ethos and then try to surprise us with men marking and on goal kicks or something like that.' While Varas has had tremendous success so far, he was quick to credit others when asked on Thursday what he's learned in his first season coaching in MLS. 'It's a credit to everybody who's involved, everyone from ownership to leadership to people selling tickets in the front office to our football leadership to our staff to our players,' Varas said. 'Great things are done with other people and for other people, and I just feel really blessed to be a part of this.'
Canada Standard
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Canada Standard
Elks search for their first win of the season against Redblacks
Field Level Media 06 Jul 2025, 03:10 GMT+10 (Photo credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images) Since COVID-19 canceled the 2020 CFL season, the Edmonton Elks have tried multiple coaches, multiple quarterbacks and all kinds of gimmicks to consistently win games. As an 18-53 overall record and ghastly 5-30 home record attest, none of it has worked. Edmonton (0-3) will make another attempt at its first win of the year Sunday night when it hosts the Ottawa Redblacks. The Elks nearly stunned Winnipeg on the road June 27 but gave up an unlikely 13-yard rushing touchdown to veteran quarterback Zach Collaros with 5:42 left that sealed a 36-23 loss. 'We've gotten better three weeks in a row but it's about winning and it's about doing the things that we need to get better to be on the other side of this result,' said first-year Edmonton coach Mark Kilam. Wasted in the loss was a solid performance from quarterback Tre Ford, who was 18 of 29 for 252 yards and a touchdown. His 68-yard strike to Kaion Julien-Grant sparked a third quarter comeback that forged a 23-23 tie. While the Elks are seeking their first win, Ottawa (1-3) was denied its second straight win on June 29 when Toronto came into town and took a 29-16 decision. The Redblacks also lost top receiver Bralon Addison to a shoulder injury that will keep him out of at least the next two games. The good news for Ottawa is that starting quarterback Dru Brown (hip) appears ready to return from a three-game absence after being injured in a Week 1 loss at Saskatchewan. Brown's return comes just in time for him to have a go at the league's worst defense. Edmonton has allowed at least 31 points in every game. 'It's fantastic to see Dru out there and I thought he looked good,' Redblacks coach Bob Dyce said after practice on Wednesday. Dustin Crum and Matt Shiltz have split the pivot duties in Brown's absence but outside of a 20-12 win at rain-soaked Calgary two weeks ago, neither has played well enough. --Field Level Media
