The University of British Columbia (UBC) defeated its Canada West (CW) rival Trinity Western 1-0 in extra time to claim gold at the 2023 U Sports Women’s Soccer Championship on Saturday in Kingston, Ont.
In a matchup between the two winningest teams in the history of U Sports women’s soccer, with UBC now holding an 8-5 edge in national titles, the championship game didn’t disappoint, as U Sports MVP Katalin Tolnai’s 120th-minute goal delivered UBC its first gold medal since 2019.
Toronto’s Tolnai recorded 22 points in 14 regular season contests – seven more points than any other player in the CW – and also scored the game-winning goal in the Thunderbirds’ quarterfinal win over Ottawa on Thursday, earning Championship MVP for her contributions.
WATCH | Tolnai leads Thunderbirds to gold:
Featured VideoKatalin Tolnai scored the winner late in extra time to give the UBC Thunderbirds a 1-0 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans Sunday at the U Sports women’s national soccer championship final.
Only nine days removed from the Spartans defeating the Thunderbirds 6-5 on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless draw in the CW final, the national championship game shaped up to be much of the same, with no goals scored through the first 119 minutes of play.
The low-scoring result came as no surprise with UBC allowing just 0.36 goals per game in the regular season to Trinity Western’s 0.57 — the two lowest marks in the CW.
The best chances in regulation both came off the foot of UBC players, with Nisa Reehal and Sophie Damian sneaking shots past Spartans goalkeeper Hannah Miller in the second half, only to be stymied by the post each time.
WATCH | Full replay of women’s gold-medal match:
Featured VideoWatch the Thunderbirds take on the Spartans in the women’s national championship gold medal soccer game from Kingston, Ontario.
The Spartans mainly controlled possession throughout extra time, but were held at bay by the Thunderbirds’ defence as well as strong positional play from goalkeeper Dakota Beckett until Jayda Thompson’s brilliant cross found Tolnai to help deliver UBC the Gladys Bean Memorial Trophy.
The Langley, B.C., native stopped 25 shots across her three victories, including 12 in the final.
No. 1 seed Laval — which was defeated by the Spartans 3-0 in the other semifinal on Friday — earned the bronze medal earlier in the day with a 1-0 win over Montreal.
Cape Breton wins men’s soccer gold
The Cape Breton men’s soccer team secured its second-ever national title on Sunday, dispatching the Montreal Carabins 1-0 in the championship game on home field in Sydney, N.S.
Fans immediately rushed onto the pitch as soon as the final whistle blew at Ness Timmons Field to celebrate the Capers’ first Sam Davidson Memorial Trophy since 2017.
A pair of first-year players proved to be the difference for Cape Breton as Jacob Spizzirri scored the game’s lone goal just before half and goalkeeper Daniel Clarke clinched the win with a six-save shutout, his second of the eight-team tournament.
WATCH | Spizzirri delivers for Capers:
Featured VideoJacob Spizzirri scored in added time of the first half for the Capers at U Sports men’s soccer championship Sunday giving Cape Breton a 1-0 win over Montreal.
The Capers entered the 2023 U Sports Men’s Soccer Championship with some added motivation this year, having its streak of six straight Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles snapped by St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) in the AUS final in October, as well as being upset by 2022 U Sports champion Thompson Rivers in the national semifinals last year, spoiling an undefeated season.
The Carabins — which had won two of the past four national titles entering Sunday — sported an identical 12-1-3 record to the Capers going into the final, with its lone loss coming in the RSEQ final to UQTR.
The University of British Columbia exacted its revenge for a 1-0 loss to Mount Royal in the CW championship last Saturday by returning the favour with a 1-0 result in the bronze-medal game earlier on Sunday.
WATCH l Full replay of men’s gold-medal match:
Featured VideoWatch the Capers take on the Carabins in the men’s national championship gold medal soccer game from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/u-sports-men-soccer-final-montreal-cape-breton-1.7026596
.