GUANGZHOU, China – The UBC Thunderbirds battled hard through extremely difficult conditions but saw their World Elite University Football Tournament come to a close with a 3-1 quarter-final loss to the University of Tubingen (Germany) Wednesday afternoon in Guangzhou.

"I am proud of the boys and the efforts they put forth today," said UBC head coach Mike Mosher following the loss to the two-time defending tournament champions. "We were up against it through various forms of adversity and we fought back. The heat and humidity on the artificial surface today were as warm and difficult match conditions as I have ever been a part of in all my years in the game. Add to that it was our third match in these conditions in 5 days."

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Your starting 11 vs Tubingen tonight. The boys dropped a 3-1 lose. A gutsy effort in 40 degree weather. Battled hard to make it 1-1 in the 60th on a great strike from @seaneinarsson. But the German side scored two goals on breaks to secure the 3-1 win. Very proud of all the lads was not easy conditions to play football

A post shared by UBC Mens Soccer (@ubcmsoc) on Jul 17, 2019 at 4:11am PDT

After falling down 1-0, the 'Birds battled back to tie the match in the 60th minute off the foot of veteran midfielder Sean Einarsson who scored his second goal of the tournament.

However, Tubingen was able to capitalize on some T-Bird mishaps to put the game away and advance to the semifinals for a third straight time at the WEUFT. 

"What will haunt us from this game was that we conceded very preventable goals in my opinion," explained Mosher. "We must be more difficult to score upon if you want to be successful in bigger matches against good opponents."

Adding to the difficulty of facing a very tough German squad was a short bench playing in 40 degree heat in the middle of the afternoon. But despite the loss, UBC's coaching staff saw incredible compete and resilience which bodes well for the coming Canada West season.

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The team is fuelling up for a big 1/4 match today at 4pm local time. 1amPST back home vs the team from Germany. This is the same side we faced in the 2017 final

A post shared by UBC Mens Soccer (@ubcmsoc) on Jul 16, 2019 at 6:21pm PDT

"Focusing on the positives, we have some real warriors in this group, the kind of guys you want in your team when your back is against the wall in a tough situation," added Mosher. "We have had several step up thus far on this trip. And for some of the younger guys they can see what it takes, and these guys serve as good role models."

The 'Birds remain in China for several more days before heading to Hong Kong to conclude their overseas trip with an exhibition match and some team bonding prior to returning to Vancouver where the team's Canada West training camp will begin in early August.