MONTREAL – The UBC Thunderbirds have been forced to the relegation side of the 2019 U SPORTS men's soccer national championship after a 1-0 loss to the Université du Quebec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes on a chilly Thursday afternoon at Montreal's CEPSUM stadium.
After a scoreless first half that saw the T-Birds carry the pace of play, generating a number of scoring chances, it was UQTR who scored early in the second half, the only goal they needed, as UBC will now face the St. Francis Xavier X-Men in a consolation semifinal Friday afternoon.
"We thought we could persevere and things would happen and I thought we started the second half reasonably well but then the goal come and that changes everything," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "Once they got the goal they really had something to cling to."
The T-Birds had a number of scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes but the Patriotes defended well and knocked several balls out from inside the 18. A ball-in for
Victory Shumbusho in the 14
th minute was knocked aside by a UQTR defender just as the T-Birds' attacker was poised to strike. Just minutes later
Sean Einarsson had an opportunity in the area but UQTR's goalkeeper, Felix Clapin-Girard, was able to fall on the ball.
Jackson Farmer, who was named UBC's Player of the Match, had perhaps the best chance of the opening half when he headed the ball in the 36
th for one of Clapin-Girard's eight saves.
The 'Birds started the second half strong once again but the Patriotes got an early goal, courtesy of a Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti header from six yards out in the 52
nd minute.
Despite pressing for the remainder of the match, the T-Birds ran into a stingy Patriotes side that fell back and prevented many more opportunities other than a couple of quality shots in stoppage time.
The start to the game was delayed by an hour due to snow accumulating on the field which made for challenging conditions even after it was mostly cleared away.
"It wasn't perhaps conducive to our style of play, but it was the same for both teams," added Mosher who was fairly pleased with his team's performance overall. "We could've been a bit better in parts but that's also sometimes credit to the opponent."
For the second straight year at nationals, the T-Birds will play in a consolation semifinal. The challenge now is to regroup and refocus to play for the proud tradition that is UBC soccer.
"Once you lose this first game, it's tough to get your group up," said Mosher. "Everybody's pretty down right now but we'll get there. Sometimes you have to play on the other side and that's going to be the day tomorrow."
Kickoff against the St. FX X-Men is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. PT at Université de Montreal's CEPSUM stadium.
