Late goal heroics put UBC back on top in men’s soccer
Joven Mann’s header in the second minute of stoppage time gave the UBC Thunderbirds a 1-0 win over the Montréal Carabins in the championship game of the 2024 Bruce Power U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship at Vaso’s Field in Oshawa. With the game seemingly headed for extra time, the rookie midfielder from Surrey, B.C., connected from about six yards out as Chris Lee found him with a cross into the box, sending the UBC bench into hysterics and the Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy on a great trek to Point Grey for the 14th time overall, but the first since 2013.
The game was a tight defensive struggle throughout, with neither team able to trouble the scorers. Montréal had a pair of shots in a quick flurry in the games second minute, but were unable to break the ice. As the game wound down, Montréal had a flurry of chances with Quentin Paumier and Maxime Filion both firing shots on goal in the 88th minute.
UBC got its final chance as the regulation 90 minutes concluded. After Montréal Julian Bruce committed a foul at centre, UBC was able to push the ball into the Montréal half of the field, culminating in Mann’s championship-winning goal just over a minute later.
For the game, Montreal outshot UBC 19-4, with Bennett McKay of UBC turning aside all 10 of the Carabins shots on target, while Joakim Mill made one save. Lucas Dasovic earned player of the game honours for UBC, while Zacharie Belamri got the nod for Montréal.
Mann was named the tournament MVP for his efforts, highlighted by the tournament-winning goal, and he was joined by four teammates on the championship all-star team: McKay, Eric Lajeunesse, Dasovic and Henri Godbout. Two Carabins made the squad, with Quentin Paumier and Sebastian Cobuzzi being honoured. Ibrahim Chami, Yannick Laurent (both of McGill) and Manveer Gilla and Christian Zeppieri (both of York) rounded out the squad. The STFX X-Men won the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.
The 2025 edition of the men’s soccer championship is set for Toronto, where it will be hosted by the University of Toronto.
NIKE TEAM PLAYERS OF THE GAME:
- Lucas Dasovic, UBC
- Zacharie Belamri, Montréal
CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
R.W. PUGH FAIR PLAY AWARD: STFX X-Men
TOURNAMENT ALL-STAR TEAM:
- GK Bennett McKay, UBC
- D Eric Lajeunesse, UBC
- D Ibrahim Chami, McGill
- D Lucas Dasovic, UBC
- D Yannick Laurent, McGill
- M Manveer Gill, York
- M Quentin paumier, Montréal
- M Sebastian Cobuzzi, Montréal
- M Christian Zeppieri, York
- F Joven Mann, UBC
- F Henri Godbout, UBC
TOURNAMENT MVP: Joven Mann, UBC
Team Stats
UBC
| Game Statistics | Montreal | UBC |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 19 (10) | 4 (2) |
| Saves | 1 | 10 |
| Fouls | 8 | 3 |
| Corner Kicks | 5 | 2 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |