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The defending Vanier Cup-champion Montreal Carabins, the 2023 runner-up UBC Thunderbirds and the undefeated Laurier Golden Hawks are among the U Sports football teams in conference semifinal action this weekend.

Here is a look at Saturday’s matchups:

RSEQ Semifinals

Concordia at No. 3 Laval, 12 p.m.

Stade Telus-Université Laval, Quebec City

The Rouge-et-Or (7-1) look to advance to their 21st straight Dunsmore Cup final when they host the Stingers (2-6). Laval opened the season with a 36-11 win at Concordia, then beat the Stingers 34-10 in a rematch at Laval. The Rouge-et-Or’s only loss of the season was 32-31 overtime defeat to top-ranked Montreal, and it’s probable that the two rivals will meet in the RSEQ final for the 11th straight year. Laval quarterback Arnaud Desjardins led the conference in passing yards (2,373) and touchdowns (17).

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McGill at No. 1 Montreal, 3 p.m.

CEPSUM, Montreal

The defending Vanier Cup champion Carabins (7-1) take the nation’s top ranking into the RSEQ semifinal against the Redbirds (3-5). Montreal had little trouble with McGill during the regular season, winning 47-8 at Percival Molson Stadium and 38-28 at CEPSUM. Montreal’s only loss of the season was a 23-22 loss at No. 3 Laval. Montreal will lean heavily on an offence that scored a conference-best 273 points this season.

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OUA Semifinals

No. 5 Guelph at No. 4 Western, 1 p.m.

Western Alumni Stadium, London, Ont.

The first meeting of the year between the host Mustangs (7-1) and the Gryphons (6-2) is a crucial one. Both teams come into the game on a roll. Western won four straight to end the season before thumping McMaster 46-10 in the OUA quarterfinals, while Guelph ended the campaign with three straight wins before defeating Ottawa 26-15 last week. Western has advanced to the Yates Cup in eight straight seasons and has won the last three. Guelph is looking for its first conference title since it defeated the Mustangs 23-17 in 2015.

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No. 8 Queens at No. 2 Laurier, 1 p.m.

Laurier Athletic Complex, Waterloo, Ont.

The Golden Hawks (8-0) are one of two undefeated teams heading into Saturday’s action after steamrolling through the regular season and earning a bye to the semifinals. Laurier’s most lopsided win of the season was a 51-21 rout of Queen’s. The Gaels (5-3) were 1-3 on the road this season, but rebounded for a 22-19 win at Windsor in the quarterfinals. Laurier lost 29-14 to Western in last year’s Yates Cup, while the Gaels fell to the Mustangs in the previous two finals. The Golden Hawks are led by quarterback Taylor Elgersma, who led the OUA in passing yards (2,643) and touchdowns (20).

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AUS Semifinals

Saint Mary’s at STFX, 1 p.m.

STFX Stadium, Antigonish, N.S.

The X-Men (5-3) enter the AUS semifinals as the three-time defending Jewett Trophy winners. STFX swept the season series with St. Mary’s (4-4), beating the Huskies 19-17 on the road on a last-minute field goal before winning 26-19 at home to end the season. X-Men running back Caleb Fogarty led the AUS with 781 rushing yards.

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Acadia at No. 6 Bishop’s, 1 p.m.

Coulter Field, Lennoxville, Que.

The Gaiters (8-0) dominated the AUS regular season, posting a point differential of 200 over their eight games. STFX was next with 85. That differential was fed heavily by a 70-7 round of Acadia (2-6) on Sept. 14. The Axemen put up more of a fight when hosting the rematch but still fell 29-18. Bishop’s can get it done on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Justin Quirion leading the conference with 2,307 passing yards and 18 touchdowns and the defence putting up an AUS-best 27 sacks.

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Canada West Semifinals

Regina at No. 7 Manitoba, 3 p.m.

University Stadium, Winnipeg

The host Bisons led Canada West with a 7-1 record and defeated the Rams (3-5) 22-13 in their only regular-season meeting of the year. Manitoba’s offence is led by Breydon Stubbs, who put up over 1,000 all-purpose yards (937 rushing, 67 receiving) and ran in a Bisons-record 14 touchdowns. The Bisons are looking for their first Hardy Trophy win as Canada West champion since 2014. They say they are inspired to go even further and win the Vanier Cup for longtime coach Brian Dobie’, who is retiring after this season. Kenton Appel is a special-teams threat for Regina after leading Canada West with 286 punt return yards,

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No. 10 Saskatchewan at No. 9 UBC, 3 p.m.

Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver

UBC’s road to a second straight Vanier Cup appearance begins against a familiar rival in Saskatchewan. Both teams finished the regular season with 5-3 records, but UBC scored five rushing touchdowns in a 38-24 win over the Huskies Sept. 20 at Thunderbird Stadium. However, the Huskies are 11-2 against UBC in the playoffs all-time. The last Hardy Trophy final to feature neither Saskatchewan nor UBC was in 2014.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 1, 2024.

SHIGA, Japan (AP) — Hana Wakimoto shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to maintain her lead after the second round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.

The Japanese player shot a 63 in the opening round and continued to set the pace with a 13-under-par total of 131 after 36 holes.

Yealimi Noh of the United States and Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand were two strokes off the lead after the second round. Noh shot 65 and Jutanugarn carded a 66.

Rio Takeda of Japan was three behind after a 65.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 71 and was at 3-under, 10 strokes behind. Minjee Lee of Australia shot 75 and was 11 strokes behind Wakimoto.

Noh, who has been using a new putting stance over the past year, birdied her first hole of the day, the par-5 1st, and made pars on her next two holes. The 23-year-old then had four consecutive birdies.

“For me, last year, I was really struggling with my putting and I just needed something new and something completely different,” said Noh, who needed only 20 putts throughout her second round Friday.

“I never even thought of trying it but my coach and my dad suggested it to me and I tried it. It helped me get over that uneasy feeling over the ball. So, that’s how it started and now using it a year after, my stroke has gotten really solid and my speed is great with the putter so it has helped me a lot.”

The Japan tournament concludes a four-event Asian swing for the LPGA Tour that included events in China, South Korea and Malaysia.

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AP golf:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Manchester United hired Ruben Amorim on Friday, gambling on a manager unproven in Europe’s top leagues to turn around the fortunes of the fading English power.

At age 39, Amorim, who has joined from Portuguese champion Sporting Lisbon, will be the youngest person to coach United since the 1960s and the sixth permanent manager since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013.

He will take charge on Nov. 11, after completing his commitments to Sporting, and has signed a contract until June 2027, with United having an option of an additional year.

“Ruben is one of the most exciting and highly-rated young coaches in European football,” United said.

United, the 20-time English champion, hasn’t won the Premier League since Ferguson’s final season in charge. Amorim’s task will be to revive the glories of a club that has fallen way behind the best in England and Europe — something that has been beyond the likes of Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and most recently Erik ten Hag, who was fired on Monday.

United is currently in 14th place in the 20-team Premier League, having lost four of its first nine games.

Amorim, a former Portugal midfielder who spent the majority of his club career at Benfica, joins after United paid 10 million euros ($10.8 million) to release him from his contract at Sporting, which he led to two Portuguese titles in four full seasons in charge.

He has only worked in Portugal and has no experience of managing some of the game’s top players under the constant glare of the world’s media.

However, Amorim did end Sporting’s 19-year title drought in the Portuguese league in 2021 to end the dominance of rivals Benfica and Porto, and won the League Cup that year, too, in his first season in charge.

Sporting also won the league last season and has won all nine of its league games in this campaign, bolstering Amorim’s status as a burgeoning coaching prospect. In his only other top-flight role, at Braga, he won the League Cup in a stint lasting less than a season.

Amorim will finish his time at Sporting with a game against Estrela da Amadora on Friday, at home to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday and with a trip to Braga on Nov. 10.

In the meantime, Ruud van Nistelrooy will stay in interim control of United, taking charge of three games before the international break, which are all at home: against Chelsea and Leicester in the Premier League either side of a Europa League match against PAOK.

Amorim’s first game with United will be away to Ipswich on Nov. 24.

He reportedly held talks with West Ham last season before the London team hired Julen Lopetegui, and was also linked with replacing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before Arne Slot was appointed.

Now, he is taking charge of one of the world’s most storied clubs, which has been in decline for the past decade and is in a period of upheaval following the arrival of a new soccer-focused leadership team fronted by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe will hope he has signed the latest coaching gem, with Amorim the youngest United manager since a 31-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge in 1969.

Following on from the appointment of Ten Hag, who arrived from the Dutch league, it continues United’s shift from hiring high-profile coaches such as Van Gaal and Mourinho.

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AP soccer:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.