Third time was definitely the charm. The Royal-Sélect de Beauport won the 2009 Coupe du Québec Saputo AAA on shots from the penalty mark following a 0:0 draw against defending champion Corfinium de St-Léonard. The championship reversed two previous losses in the final on shots from the penalty mark, including the 2008 final to St-Léonard. The Royal have thus qualified for the 2009 BMO National Championships Challenge Trophy competition for the first time in club history.

'After losing on penalties in 2006 and 2009, this was finally our year,' said head coach Samir Ghrib. 'As a bonus, we won the championship in front of our fans at home.'

The Royal returned to the final following a 6:1 victory over Celtix du Haut-Richelieu in the semi-final stage. Corfinium, meanwhile, won 2:0 over Casalciprano Anjou in the other semi-final match. In the final, both teams played 90 minutes of regulation time plus 30 minutes of extra time without scoring a goal.

In the final, coach Ghrib’s starting XI featured Vincent Dubé in goal, Michel Mana Nga, Alexandre Lévesque-Tremblay, Olivier Brett and Julien Meunier on defence, Garba Nyam Well, Samuel Georget, Pierre-Henri Poudré and Julien Priol at midfield, and Boris Salou and David Chapdeleine-Miller up front. Dubé was a standout in the final.

As a first-time champion, Royal’s lineup has no Challenge Trophy experience. Regardless, the team went toe-to-toe with last year’s national silver medalist Corfinium and knocked them off. Now, Royal will try to do what no Québec team has done in more than a decade: win gold. Rivière des Prairies was Québec’s last Challenge Trophy champion in 1998.

The Saskatchewan Soccer Association will host the 2009 BMO National Championships this 7-12 October in conjunction with Saskatoon Adult Soccer Inc. Both the Challenge Trophy (senior men) and Jubilee Trophy (senior women) competitions will take place in Saskatoon, SK.

So far in 2009, British Columbia’s West Van FC, Saskatchewan’s Huskie Alumni, Manitoba’s Hellas SC, Québec’s Beauport, Nova Scotia’s Halifax City and Newfoundland Labrador’s Holy Cross have qualified for the Challenge Trophy competition. British Columbia’s Surrey United, Saskatchewan’s Saskatoon NATA, Manitoba’s South End United, Nova Scotia’s Halifax City, Nova Scotia’s Halifax Dunbrack and Newfoundland Labrador’s EPR Kirby/The Dock have qualified for the Jubilee Trophy competition.

BMO Financial Group is proud to support soccer at all levels across Canada, from grassroots to Canada’s national teams. Starting with sponsorship of more than 400 Canadian youth teams to the title support of elite youth players at the BMO National Championships, through to the professional-team support (Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC) and sponsorship of the Canadian men’s and women’s national soccer teams, BMO Financial Group is serious about Canadian soccer. For more information on BMO’s support of soccer in Canada, visit bmosoccer.com.