The University of British Columbia Athletics

For the first time since 2013, the UBC Thunderbirds will play for gold at the U SPORTS Men's National Soccer Championship! Earlier today at Hillside Field in Kamloops the 'Birds punched their ticket to Sunday's championship match following a 2-0 victory over the defending national champs from Montreal. Thomas Gardner and Logan Chung supplied first-half goals for UBC and goalkeeper Peter Whyte continued his strong play, turning aside five shot attempts from the Carabins who failed to advance to the national championship match for the first time since 2016.
 
Fresh off a 4-2 quarterfinal victory over TMU Thursday, Mike Mosher's UBC Thunderbirds took to the pitch Friday with terrific speed, urgency and poise, and were rewarded early for their efforts.
 
In the 11^th minute, UBC was awarded a free kick from exactly 25 yards away from the Montreal goal. Fourth-year midfielder Thomas Gardner lifted a beautiful, bending shot over both the four-man defensive wall and over the head of goalkeeper Jordan Tisseur for his first of the national championship tournament.
 

'Birds lead @Carabins 1-0 in the @USPORTS_Soccer Men's National Semifinals! https://t.co/UV5M3K5Yg1

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 12, 2022

UBC's maintained much of the ball possession in the minutes to follow and even when the defending champs were able to find some free space down the wings, the blue and gold had an answer defensively. Of Montreal's five first-half shot attempts, only one found its way on target.
 
On the flipside, UBC also managed five shots on the Montreal goal during the first 45 minutes, but both shots on target went in.
 
The second goal came in the 29^th minute off a slick connection between Markus Kaiser and Logan Chung. Kaiser fed a pass to Chung at the top of the Montreal penalty area. Chung took the pass, spun to his right, took a few quick steps before delivering his first goal of the national championships.
 

2-0 UBC!! Logan Chung! https://t.co/JJf2UUVL0o

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 12, 2022

Time and space were at a premium for Montreal through the first 20 minutes of the second half, as the defensive stalwarts from UBC did a great job of limiting the quality looks on their net. On the other side of the field, the blue and gold had a couple of decent opportunities to extend their lead, but Logan Chung 55^th minute) and Daniel Kaiser (58^th minute) both fired wide on their attempts.


 
The defending champs though did not fade quietly into the brisk Kamloops night. The best looks for Montreal came in fast succession in the 77^th and 79^th minutes. Both times though, Peter Whyte was up to the task when he first lunged to his left to deny a decent look from Julien Bruce. Then moments later off a header from Salim Eliasy, Whyte was once again positioned well to make the save.
 
Despite the late push, UBC held on to secure the 2-0 victory and their berth in the championship game.
 
Mike Mosher's crew will now await the winner of Cape Breton and the hosts from Thompson Rivers (November 11^th, 7:30 pm). UBC's quest for a 14^th national championship will take place Sunday, November 13^th at 2:00 pm PT.