Niall Cousens scored once and assisted on two other goals at the CIS men’s soccer championship in Fredericton, leading his UBC Thunderbirds team to a second straight national title on Nov. 10.
In the CIS final, the third-year Kinesiology student from Vancouver scored the game-tying goal unassisted on a strike just underneath the crossbar in the 51st minute to give UBC life against a stout Laval squad, which had not lost since Sept. 6.
Just 11 minutes later, Cousens assisted on the championship-winning goal by Milad Mehrabi.
He earned the Player of the Game honours for UBC in the final
For the entire CIS tournament, the 6-foot-4 forward was the target of opposing defenders, who often double-teamed and fouled Cousens, but he was impressive in holding possession of the ball with both his head and his feet to give UBC opportunities on offence.
His championship MVP honour caps off a wonderful two weeks for Cousens, who was named a First Team Canada West All-Star before the start of the league’s Final Six tournament. He then scored four goals in 22 minutes to give UBC the Canada West title and earning the league’s First Star recognition.
