TORONTO - The UBC Thunderbirds settled for a silver medal at the 2010 CIS men's soccer championship, losing 1-0 to the York Lions in the championship final.
It was UBC's 15th national final appearance but they couldn't add to their record 11 CIS titles. Adrian Pena scored his fourth goal of the tournament for the Lions in the first half to pace the OUA runners up to their second title in the last three years. They also captured the CIS banner in 2008.
York got the game winner in the 17th minute when left back Dominic Antonini crossed a low ball to Pena who finished from six yards out with a one-time strike.
The T-Birds struggled to penetrate York's defensive style for most the first half but in the second, they controlled possession and put the Lions under pressure.
In the final 15 minutes, UBC had a number of opportunities to draw level but could not beat Lions netminder Sotiri Varlokostas.
First-year striker
Gagan Dosanjh, a tournament all-star, broke in behind the York defence in the 80th minute but his shot was blocked by York's Gerard Ladiyou. On the ensuing corner, the ball bounced around the goal mouth and just over the Lions net.
Substitute
Paul Clerc then had a header in the 89th minute off a UBC corner, firing it just high over the woodwork.
UBC continued to press into injury time and were almost rewarded when
Ashley Ankiewicz headed a ball off a long cross towards the far post, but Varlokostas was equal to the task, snaring it as it sailed towards the top right corner of the net.
UBC head coach
Mike Mosher had nothing but praise for his squad after the loss.
"This team is a great group of players. Maybe more importantly, it's a great group of people. I'm proud to be associated with them," said Mosher.
"They worked their butts off today, through this tournament, and through the season," continued Mosher. "It's bitterly disappointing [to lose the final] but we can say we went down doing everything we possible could have. On the day, we lost to a good team and we have to give our respect to York."
Pena, the tournament MVP, was in fine form in the first half with three solid chances in addition to his tally.
He had York's first good chance in the eighth minute, firing a shot from edge of area that was parried by UBC netminder
Zach Kalthoff.
Pena then had a pair of chances in the last five minutes of the first half with a header in the 40th minute going just high and he had another shot from inside the UBC penalty area in the 45th minute that Kalthoff again turned away.
UBC came out in the second half and immediately took control of the game, pinning the Lions in their own half for the entire 45 minutes. The 'Birds earned seven corners and four shots on net but couldn't find the equalizer.
In addition to Dosanjh, central midfielders
Brandon Bonifacio and
Alejandro Isern were honoured as championship all-stars. The Lions had four all-stars with Pena, Varlokostas, Ladiyou, and Antonini earning spots on the tournament 11.
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