UBC suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the Canada West Men’s Soccer final to the Mount Royal University Cougars (MRU), with Cougars forward Chanan Chanda scoring a last-gasp winner in stoppage time. While things initially looked promising for the ‘Birds, with UBC striker Theo Afework scoring in the first five minutes, his opening goal was quickly cancelled out by MRU’s Ruben Koudelka, before the Cougars completed the comeback in the final moments on Nov. 1.
After both sides had secured their place in the final after dramatic semifinal victories — with UBC securing a win on a last-second extra time goal, and Mount Royal advancing on penalties — this rematch of the previous two Canada West finals was poised to be an enthralling affair.
The Thunderbirds travelled to Calgary as the favourites, as they had won the Canada West Pacific Division with a 15–0–1 record across the regular season, including a 2–0 win over their hosts when they met back in September.
Perhaps buoyed by their record, UBC came out firing with confidence, and it took them only five minutes to take the lead. Following a cross from captain Markus Kaiser, Afework was able to corral a bouncing ball and fire home his sixth of the season — just past the outstretched arms of the Cougars’ keeper — to put his team in front.
Theo Afework looks to beat a Mount Royal player to the ball. Afework’s early goal seemed to be a good omen for the ‘Birds. It would end as their only shot on goal all game. Courtesy Mount Royal Cougars
However, the tide in this game quickly turned, as after that early goal, Mount Royal found their rhythm and began to trouble the UBC defence. Only five minutes after Afework’s goal, T-Birds goalkeeper Jack Garner had to react fast to get down and save Koudelka’s effort, before a corner saw Finn Marshall and Luka Patik come close to finding an equalizer.
The hosts continued to push forward, and eventually MRU evened the score after 27 minutes, as Alex Kemsley’s header off of a corner bounced down off the bar and was prodded over the line by Koudelka, despite Garner’s efforts to prevent the ball from going in.
UBC’s Markus Kaiser takes a shot. Kaiser and the ‘Birds may have been lucky to go into the half tied, after being outplayed by the Cougars. Courtesy Mount Royal Cougars
While they got off to such a quick start, the Thunderbirds were unable to respond after that setback — with Mount Royal ending the first half firmly in control of proceedings despite the score line remaining level. After Afework’s goal in the 5th minute, the ‘Birds offence fell silent, not getting another shot on target for the rest of the half. With that performance, Mike Mosher’s side had a lot of work to do if they were going to get back into the game.
‘Birds striker Max Comsia makes moves with the ball. Comsia is one of UBC’s best offensive options, having scored the third-most goals on the team — but he and the rest of the T-Birds attack were absent against MRU. Courtesy Mount Royal Cougars
However, it was more of the same when the teams came out after the interval, as UBC struggled to maintain forward momentum and impose their style of play on their opponents. The ‘Birds offensive struggles allowed Mount Royal to have their own opportunities, as just past 10 minutes into the half Patik forced a strong save from Garner, before his followup put the ball wide from a free header with the goal at his mercy.
Yet, after those chances, Mount Royal then saw their momentum derailed by a series of injuries that halted the flow of the game — with the second half devolving into a scrappy affair, with both sides desperate to avoid losing the match.
For UBC, that desperation wasn’t enough. In virtually the final act of the game, the home side snatched the Canada West title. With the ball going to MRU forward Josh Flaksman, he lofted up a beautiful pass from just outside the crease — nearly parallel to the goal line — going just over the hands over a leaping Garner, and right on to the head of Chanda.As Chanda nodded home the ball on the goal line, the Cougars burst into delirious celebration, while UBC’s players fell to the floor in despair.
This loss is UBC’s first of the year, previously going undefeated throughout the regular season. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. The result denies UBC their sixth Canada West title in seven years, and leaves them with plenty of work to do as the T-Birds look to defend their national title at the U Sports Men’s Soccer Championship in Toronto.
Because of their loss against MRU, the ‘Birds will get a much tougher draw in the tournament, coming in as the seven seed and setting up a quarterfinal match against the University of Montreal Carabins — the team UBC beat in the gold medal game last year.
First online Nov. 8, 2025, midnight
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