OSHAWA, Ont. – For the 14
th time in program history and the first time since 2013, the UBC Thunderbirds are U SPORTS Men's Soccer Champions!
Battling the Montreal Carabins for the third straight time at the national tournament, the match seemed destined for extra time until
Joven Mann scored his third goal of the championship with just moments remaining in stoppage time to put the gold back in the blue and gold.
"It's tough to put into words right now, other than I'm thrilled for the group of individuals in our team and our coaches and our staff and everybody who's played a role," said UBC head coach,
Mike Mosher, who has now won six U SPORTS titles on the T-Birds' staff. "The way that it's finished today is pretty incredible with just the way the game went and the 90
th minute goal to win it. I've been in a lot of big games and been in the league a long time and this one is pretty unique."
Named the tournament MVP with his championship clinching goal marking his fourth point of the week, Mann headed in an
Eric Kim cross from just outside the area, sending UBC's bench and their supporters on site into a frenzy.
The goal came after some intense pressure by the Thunderbirds who had struggled to create much throughout the majority of the match.
UBC goalkeeper
Bennett McKay was fantastic on the day making 10 saves including a clutch effort in the 88
th minute, denying a heavy Maxime Filion shot from 19 yards out.
Failing to test Montreal's keeper until well inside the second half, Kim protected the ball well and passed off to the right side of the box where
Luke Norman sent a low shot on goal, forcing Joakim Mill to make his only save of the contest in the 82
nd minute.
It was the start of a late push by the T-Birds who slowly but surely began to tilt the pitch in their favour.
"We weathered a bit certainly early on, we weren't at our sharpest," said Mosher. "Gosh, that's a really good team we beat today, a very good team, and they made it very difficult. We said to the guys going into the game that this is a game kind of unlike many we play where there will be lengthy periods of time where we don't have the ball. And just to be comfortable with that. Whatever they get, make them earn it, and we did."
In addition to Mann's tournament MVP award, forward
Henri Godbout was named to the championship All-Star squad as were defenders
Eric Lajeunesse and
Lucas Dasovic, who was also named UBC's Player of the Match. McKay, who completed the tournament with two clean sheets in goal was also named a championship All-Star.
This marks the sixth U SPORTS championship for
Mike Mosher as a coach, his fifth as the program lead and his ninth total with the T-Birds including his three won as a player.
"It's special. I think anybody would say their group is special, and they are, because when you get to the top of the mountain, it's not easy, and it should be savoured. We've got some guys in the group who've had some tough hits over the last few years and the program itself, we've come damn close for a long time. When we won back to back in 2012 and 2013, never would I thought we're not going to win again for over ten years while being at the tournament most of those years too. That was a bit of the message today too, you just never know when you'll get into a national final again and you got to make the most of it. I feel for our opponent today because they're a very good team, they're very well coached, they're so organized and to suffer a defeat on the last kick of the game, that's not easy."
The gold finish to the season makes it a podium trifecta for the 'Birds in the last three years having earned bronze in 2023 and silver the year prior. For a team that has come so very close to securing another championship over the past decade, this victory tastes extra sweet for a number of graduating players who now get to finish their U SPORTS careers on the top of that mountain.
