TORONTO – The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's soccer team is set to enter the quarterfinals of the OUA  playoffs this Wednesday, October 23rd at 7 p.m. 

The Bold will be taking on the Carleton Ravens, a team that put up a tough fight in the regular season. Earlier this season, TMU the Bold tied Ottawa in the nation's capital before besting them 3-0 at Downsview Park.

After a long and challenging season, the Bold have put in the work to prepare for this match, with their ultimate goal in reach – make the OUA finals and bring home the championship title. 

Head coach Fil Prostran has been pushing his team all season to play with a positive headspace, and not allow their nerves to get in the way. 

"We're trying to get them focused and to treat this game like any other, do our thing, and let the chips fall where they may," said Prostran.

Looking back on the season, the Bold lost one game early on but have been consistent throughout the rest of the regular season and have secured a record of 8-1-3.

Getting the bye week has been immensely helpful for the well-being of the Bold.

"The most important thing is number one, the team's health. If there's somebody that's hurting in some way, they can take some time off, like a few days. That's the beauty of the bye," Prostran added.

After a week of rest and practicing, the players led by co-captains Chris Campoli and Luca Di Marco, hope to come out on top in this upcoming playoff run.

"We have to go in with the right mindset to get the results we want, I don't see why we can't do it, and we're on our road to Nationals that's where we want to be," said Di Marco. 

Di Marco, in his fifth year, has aspirations to bring home an OUA title and a national title; it would be the ultimate end to his time at TMU.

With the playoffs being a single-elimination tournament, there is no time to hold back.

"Everybody needs to be giving 110% and as a captain, I feel like it's my responsibility to be able to get the best out of these guys going into such a big game," said Campoli.

Campoli urged his teammates to come into the playoff run with the right mentality and play to the high level of soccer they've been playing all season.

Prostran reminded the team that going into the playoffs, 80% of the focus lies on them and 20% on their opponent.

"Like I said, the biggest focus is on us, and whoever rolls into town, we'll give them our best game."

Although the Ravens will be the first game of the playoffs for the Bold, they are focused on the big picture, which is battling to the end.

Second-year defender Sam Rankin is excited for the first playoff game of the year. 

"We already beat Carleton, we want to do it again, and we have ambitions to win the OUA this year," Rankin adds.

The Bold have been excellent on their home field this season, and playing at Downsview Park this Wednesday is a huge advantage.

"We're playing at home, at our fortress. So every time teams come and play here, we try and play at 100 miles an hour and bring the game to them, especially playing with the crowd behind us, it'll be a good one," said Campoli.

The Bold came into this season with one goal: to win. They've proven over and over again that they are a difficult opponent to face and will need to be up for the challenge against the Ravens.

Admission to all home playoff matches is free for TMU students and they are encouraged to come out to Downsview Park and support the Bold.