The Laval Rouge et Or battled exhaustion to pull out with a decisive 4-2 win over the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds in the consolation semifinal of the U Sports men’s soccer national championship Friday night.
U Sports men’s soccer nationals is meant to be the best of the best in Canada, but after both teams spent most of their energy on Thursday trying to win their quarterfinal games, the consolation semifinal was a war of attrition.
With the win, Laval advanced to the consolation finals on Saturday, where they’ll face the University of Victoria Vikes.
“UBC was a bit tired. It’s just part of the game,” Laval midfielder Heikel Jarras said. “Two games in two days—it’s not easy.”
Laval put up the first goal of the game in the 23rd minute, but the teams went back and forth at the start of the second half with three goals in 10 minutes. UBC’s forward Tristan Nkoghe tied the game before Laval striker Wassim Chaouki put the Rouge et Or back in the lead.
To finish off the frenzy, the Thunderbirds tied the match 2-2 with a goal from midfielder Markus Kaiser that bounced off the left post and into the back of the net.
After 12 minutes of relative quiet, the Rouge et Or offence got to work again in the 67th minute with another goal from Chaouki. Laval pulled away with a goal from midfielder Baptiste Toussaint at the 80th minute, finishing 4-2.
For the Thunderbirds, the loss marks a disappointing fall from grace after leading 2-0 against the Carleton Ravens halfway through their quarterfinal. Carleton stormed back and tied the game in the second half, forcing extra time and penalty kicks, with defender Tareq Hamad scoring the game-winning penalty kick for the Ravens.
“We had the aspirations to win it all,” UBC defender Riley Pang said.
After the bruising 120-minute battle against Carleton, UBC forward Mackenzie Cole said the loss to Carleton “took a lot out of us” but it was easy to find the motivation to play again on Friday.
“It’s kind of almost therapeutic to go out there and play again and just have fun and enjoy it,” Cole said. “That was the message—have fun with your soccer. Don’t worry about the scoreline, don’t worry about the results. Just enjoy yourself.”
The consolation semifinal was only the second of six games at nationals so far to not go into overtime or penalty kicks. Cole said the close games demonstrate the similar level of competition for all the teams.
“It’s such fine margins at this level,” Cole said. “It’s the little things that get you over the line and experience is everything. Hopefully we gained that in today’s game and can use it going forward.”
Cole is in his final year with the team.
“Yeah, winning’s everything, but it’s the friendship, the memories, the people you meet [that are] more important,” Cole said. “That’s meant everything to me. That’s meant more to me than winning a championship.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
