The Laval Rouge et Or closed out their play in the 2021 U Sports men’s soccer national championship with a 3-0 victory over the University of Victoria Vikes in the consolation final on Saturday at Ravens Perch.
Striker Jérémy Ménard scored twice for Laval, who controlled the run of play for all 90 minutes.
After an extra time loss to the Cape Breton Capers in the quarterfinals, Laval put together a convincing win against the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds in the consolation semifinal.
“For us it was about preparing for next season,” Ménard said in French. “We only have one player who’s graduating so we have this nucleus returning and so this team will be pretty much the same.”
Laval head coach Samir Ghrib said although the team didn’t qualify for the championship match, the experience of this year’s tournament will help the program moving forward, and that was the goal for their final two games.
Ménard bagged his first goal in the 11th minute after midfielder Jean-Phillipe Lévesque danced through a handful of Victoria defenders. Lévesque went down under pressure but was able to poke the ball to Ménard, who dispatched it into the bottom corner.
Laval tested Victoria goalkeeper Harjot Nijjar early and often, forcing him to make several saves throughout the match.
Ménard had a great chance to double the lead in the 48th minute. Forward Quentin Lacombe found Ménard in front of goal off the cross, but Ménard’s effort went off the crossbar. A subsequent shot was smothered by Nijjar.
Ménard got his second goal in the 70th minute after a blunder by the Victoria backline. A long free kick found its way behind the Victoria defenders, leaving Ménard all alone to roll it past the keeper.
Laval scored a third goal in added time when midfielder Baptiste Toussaint found forward Franck Sany in front of the goal with a low cross, which he was able to put away.
For Victoria, even making it to the tournament was a massive improvement on what outsiders expected of the team at the start of the season, when they were ranked eighth in Canada West.
“In our minds, we thought we should be higher,” defender Rees Goertzen said. “I think we proved that to ourselves and we showed that we are one of the top teams in the country. I’m glad we performed well and it’s too bad that it couldn’t have gone a bit better.”
While both Laval and Victoria have played their final games at nationals, the tournament will continue on Sunday with the bronze medal game at 11 a.m. and gold medal game at 2 p.m.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
