MONTREAL – The UBC Thunderbirds saw their U SPORTS national championship tournament end with a 1-0 loss to the York University Lions Saturday afternoon in the fifth-place final at Université de Montreal's CEPSUM Stadium.
Goalless well into the second half, the Lions scored the only tally of the match in the 84
th minute when Jon Alec Duenas pounced on an opportunity for a tap-in. A ball-in intended for Milan Beader ended up slipping past a number of bodies and making its way across to the side of the crease for what turned into the game winner.
The T-Birds continued to press for the equalizer and nearly got it in stoppage time when
Jackson Farmer's shot from the area was denied with a tremendous stop by York goalkeeper George Tzimas.
Jordan Haynes made a perfect cross to Farmer who was stopped from just eight yards out.
"I'm proud of my players who showed up and fought," said UBC head coach
Mike Mosher. "We ran out of energy in the second half and lost possession of the ball, that's when we allowed the goal."
The 'Birds were held off the scoresheet despite nine shots on target to York's four.
Graduating senior
Manraj Bains was named UBC's Player of the Match in his final game in the blue and gold. The match was also the last for fellow seniors
Sean Einarsson,
Kerman Pannu, and
Jason Roberts.
While the 2019 national championship didn't go as planned for the T-Birds, the team will soon set their sights on returning to the big dance next year in Ottawa where the Carleton Ravens will host the 2020 tournament.
