Huskie Men's Soccer Legacy

Men’s soccer dates back to 1911 at the University of Saskatchewan.

The very first interuniversity competition in men’s soccer was in the fall of 1911. That first  team went to the University of Alberta by train and the University of Saskatchewan won 1-0. This team, however, did not go under the name of Huskies.

Men’s soccer has been played at the university every year since, even though other sports like football stopped during the war years, soccer continued.

The first reference using the name “Huskies”  for University of Saskatchewan intercollegiate teams was in the 1920s.

When the Canada West University Athletic Association was formed in 1971-72, the University of Saskatchewan was a charter member and men’s soccer was a sport the Huskies declared.

Prior to that teams at the UofS played in the Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union. However, not much information is available until the 1973-74 season.

The Huskies had a rough beginning in the Canada West, going 0-15-1 in the first five seasons. It wasn’t until 1978-79 that the Huskies posted a 4-3-1 season. After that season the Huskies went winless once again until, 1983-84 with a 2-6-2 record.

From then, the Huskies consistently finished in fifth or sixth place.

It wasn’t until 1999-2000 that the Huskies  made their first playoff appearance. With a 3-6-1 record and a fourth place finish under third year head coach Jovo Radovic, the Huskies squeeked into the playoffs and had success.

The team finished with a bronze medal after defeating the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in penalty kicks.

In his last season as head coach Radovic (16-45-13) in 2003-04, the Huskies once again earned a Canada West bronze medal. This time entering the final four as hosts, the Huskies defeated UBC again, this time 2-1, to earn the bronze medal.

Bryce Chapman took over the team in 2004-05 and began with a rough 0-10-2 record.  But just two seasons later, Chapman led the Huskies to their best record in 20 years at 6-7-1, narrowly missing the playoffs.

He did the same in 2007-08 with a 4-5-5 record, missing playoffs by just two points. For his efforts, Chapman was named Canada West men’s soccer coach of the year. He was the fourth Huskie coach to earn the honour — Gord Sokolon won it in 1990-91, Percy Hoff in 1994-95 and Radovic in 1997-98.

In 2010-11, the Huskies found themselves in playoffs for the first time since 2003-04. Finishing the regular season with a 7-4-3 record, the Huskies entered the Canada West Final Four as the fourth place team. They knocked off the first place Alberta Golden Bears in the semifinal before losing to the UBC Thunderbirds in the final. The second place Canada West finish is the best-ever for the Huskies.

The Huskies have had 28 Canada West All-Stars and five CIS All-Canadians since 1973-74. All-Canadians included Gary Enthwistle in 1982-83, now assistant coach and College of Kinesiology professor Kent Kowalski in 1990-91, Tino Fusco in 1997-98 and, most recently, Josh Northey in 2009-10 and 2010-11 and Jerson Barandica-Hamilton in 2011-12.

Searching for Huskie Athletics history is an on going project. Additional information will always be added to the page. If you have any information that may help Huskie Athletics, please contact Nicole Betker, Sports Information Director at 306-966-1024 or nicole.betker@usask.ca.

All-Time Results, All-Stars, All-Canadians & Award Winners
Summary of Men's Soccer All-Time Results, Canada West All-Stars, Canada West Awards and Huskie Athletic Awards.

Year-By-Year Men's Soccer Results
Summary of each season results.

Men's Soccer Records Vs Opponents All-Time
Records vs all opponents.

Men's Soccer All-Time Career Records
Leaders for goals, assists, points, saves, shutouts and games played.

Men's Soccer All-Time Season Records
Leaders for goals, assists, points, saves, shutouts and games played.

Men's Soccer All-Time Players
List of all Huskie men's soccer players.

Men's Soccer All-Academics (since 1998-99)
Lists all Huskie Athletics men's soccer Huskie Athletics All-Academics and CIS Academic All-Canadians.