{"id":285272,"date":"2025-11-15T19:17:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T19:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/285272\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T19:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T19:17:12","slug":"mens-soccer-blows-past-dalhousie-in-consolation-semifinal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/285272\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Soccer blows past Dalhousie in consolation semifinal"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you, as a team, face a soul-crushing, season-ruining loss like UBC did against Montreal in the quarterfinals<\/a> of the U Sports Men\u2019s Soccer Championship, you have two options. The first option is to crumble. Nobody would blame you. After all, following a 15\u20130\u20131 regular season\u00a0\u2014 the first time such a record has ever been achieved in Canada West \u2014 no matter how things go in the consolation bracket, the playoff performance is a disappointment.<\/p>\n

Because of the T-Birds\u2019 loss in the quarterfinals, the best the team can finish is fifth. For a team that went undefeated in the regular season, fifth is not good enough. So, if the spiral were to continue, if UBC was to bow out quietly in the consolation semifinal, what would it matter? The damage has already been done.<\/p>\n

The second option is to choke back the loss, show up the next day, and beat the living daylights out of a clearly inferior opponent \u2014 taking out all the frustrations from the quarterfinal out on some poor, unsuspecting team. Unfortunately for the Dalhousie Tigers, the \u2018Birds chose option two.<\/p>\n

In a game that UBC controlled from the kickoff, the \u2018Birds humiliated the Tigers \u2014 barely letting them even touch the ball in a 3\u20130 win that wasn\u2019t nearly as close as the score indicates. Dalhousie didn\u2019t muster a single shot on net throughout the match, with any chances they had in the UBC end either being swiftly snuffed out by a stout Thunderbirds defence, or brought to a halt by self-inflicted errors \u2014 panicked shots that flew wildly off course, passes that went askew, avoidable turnovers and more.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it is unfair to judge the Tigers this harshly. For Dalhousie, even getting to this point is a major accomplishment. This is the second time this century that the Tigers have qualified for the U Sports championship, with their most recent appearance coming in 2008, where they lost in the consolation final. While they were a men\u2019s soccer powerhouse in the 1990s, consistently making noise in the tournament \u2014 even winning it all in 1995 \u2014 Dalhousie has been nothing close to that since. This season was potentially the first glimpse back into sustained soccer success.<\/p>\n

With an 8\u20132\u20132 record in the regular season, the Tigers secured their best campaign since they last qualified for nationals in 2008, and while they finished second in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) standings behind the Cape Breton Capers, the Tigers got the last laugh, beating the Capers in the AUS finals 3\u20132. This was no small feat, either. Since 2012, the Capers had won the conference seven times, including a stretch where they won six straight conference titles, and this season, they were nearly unbeatable in the regular season, going 9\u20131\u20132. While perhaps becoming the national champion was a bit too lofty a goal this early in the turnaround, they could maybe scare a couple teams, or maybe even sneak out a win.<\/p>\n

Those dreams were quickly dashed. Against the York Lions in their quarterfinal game, they were down 2\u20130 before even 10 minutes had passed, and before they knew it, they were the victims of a 5\u20131 beatdown that included an own goal and zero saves. Going into the consolation semifinals would not be a reprieve, either. By losing their quarterfinal against York, the Tigers would be gifted a game against the defending national champions, an angry UBC team looking to blow off some steam. Dalhousie\u2019s Cinderella run was over.<\/p>\n


\n\"A
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n UBC midfielder Yu-Hsuan Yuan cuts through the Dalhousie defence. While the Tigers had a great season for their program\u2019s standards, they still have a ways to go before they\u2019re on the level of a team like the T-Birds. Courtesy Toronto Varsity Blues\n<\/p>\n

It was clear the clock had struck midnight on the Tigers only a couple minutes in. The Thunderbirds took the ball off the opening kick, and immediately got off some solid chances, looking to echo York\u2019s early 2\u20130 lead against these Tigers a day earlier. Off a through pass that led him into wide open space just off the Dalhousie net, UBC midfielder Nicolas Nadeau launched a cross that found defender Joshua Tom\u00e9 with time to get full power on the shot.<\/p>\n

While Tome\u2019s shot was partially blocked by a Tigers player before being corralled by Dalhousie keeper Sinclair Astridge, the ease with which UBC moved the ball through the Dalhousie zone \u2014 finding copious amounts of space in dangerous areas \u2014 was an early positive sign for the T-Birds\u2019 offence.<\/p>\n

Even when the Tigers closed in on the \u2018Birds attack, UBC still found room to shoot. On an incredible individual effort just a couple minutes later, T-Birds striker Henri Godbout cut through four Dalhousie defenders, keeping the ball on a string as Tiger after Tiger failed to knock the ball away from him, with his momentum only being stopped when his shot from close-range whistled just wide.<\/p>\n

After surviving these early chances by the \u2018Birds, however, Dalhousie managed to keep the score even, at least for the first 20 minutes. Yet, that wasn\u2019t really because of the Tigers cracking down on defence. Instead, while UBC continued to dominate possession, finding tons of open space for passing, even in the attacking zone, they couldn\u2019t turn that into points. For the \u2018Birds, there had to be at least some initial worry about complacency. If they couldn\u2019t turn up the pressure and get some chances on the Dalhousie net, there was always the possibility of the back-breaker. Even in a game where you control the ball for almost the entire 90 minutes, if you can\u2019t convert on offence, one bad break can sink you.<\/p>\n

That was what Dalhousie had to be hoping for. To stave off a UBC goal at one end, and break through with a quick goal off a T-Birds\u2019 lapse \u2014 a turnover, a missed assignment, something to give them a window. The issue for the Tigers was that, even if they were given that opportunity, they had to convert. They didn\u2019t seem ready to do so.<\/p>\n

Countless times throughout the match, when the Tigers found themselves with the ball in UBC\u2019s end, they looked jumpy, as if they didn\u2019t know what to do with the ball once they got close to the T-Birds\u2019 net. In the 19th minute, as Dalhousie got a break down the left sideline, with a chance to send the ball across to a teammate with a decent amount of space in front of the net, the eventual cross didn\u2019t even come close to landing in the field of play. It soared far over the T-Birds\u2019 crossbar, and while the intended receiver of the pass attempted to make a play on the ball, he was already out of bounds as he leapt to get a foot on the ball.<\/p>\n

This would not be the only time something like this happened in the game. While Dalhousie managed to get plenty of shots off in the general vicinity of the net, rarely were they close to connecting. Of the 12 shots they took in the game, none were on net.<\/p>\n

That was the difference in this game, more than anything. While you can point to the difference in talent, team chemistry or coaching \u2014 UBC clearly looked like a team that had been here before, while Dalhousie did not. While Dalhousie was anxiously waiting for chances to come their way, UBC made their own luck.<\/p>\n


\n\"A
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n T-Birds midfielder Brennen Fuerst runs with the ball. Some misdirection from Fuerst and Luke Norman on a UBC free kick confused the Tigers, leading to the game\u2019s first goal. Courtesy Toronto Varsity Blues\n<\/p>\n

In the 25th minute, with UBC being given a free kick just outside the box on the far left sideline, they set up a nifty set piece that was almost clinical in its precision. With T-Birds midfielder Brennen Fuerst lined up to take the kick, Nadeau stood just off to the side of the ball, with his hands on his hips, waiting for Fuerst to shoot. Yet, as Fuerst stepped towards the ball, he stepped back at the last moment, opening a window for Nadeau to spring into action, catching the Tigers defence off guard by taking the shot himself.<\/p>\n

The trickery worked. Nadeau\u2019s shot was placed perfectly into the box, with midfielder Luke Norman sliding in untouched to deflect the ball into the back of the net. It was a remarkable little gadget play \u2014 putting them in the lead 1\u20130. While the Tigers looked stunned, even immediately after the goal, the T-Birds looked like they didn\u2019t even really notice the goal. They came together to celebrate, but it was muted. Calm high-fives and fist-bumps exchanged \u2014 but with little joy on their faces. Perhaps the loss to Montreal was still on their minds. Or, perhaps, it was that even with a goal, there was little to celebrate. This was what they were supposed to do.<\/p>\n

With a one-goal lead, the status quo from earlier in the game re-established itself for the remainder of the half. UBC controlled the ball, and while Dalhousie got a few chances, they would slam the window shut on themselves. When Tigers striker Mohammed Tolba set up an odd-man rush with a beautiful touch pass around two T-Birds, Dalhousie immediately squandered the chance, with the subsequent pass in the box having no power behind it, being easily intercepted by UBC. Two minutes later, the Tigers got another odd-man rush \u2014 with the same result. Almost overadjusting for the prior mistake, an attempted through pass was sent with way too much juice on it, rolling clear out of bounds, sending a wide open Tiger chasing after it to no avail.<\/p>\n

The first half ended with UBC being up only 1\u20130. Technically, Dalhousie was a shot away from tying the game. It didn\u2019t feel like that. Finally, in the second half, the T-Birds started to pull away.<\/p>\n

After a Tigers\u2019 throw-in deep in the UBC zone, the T-Birds reversed the field in an instant. With an aggressive defensive play, the combined efforts of Norman and Max Comsia stripped Dalhousie\u2019s Reese Weatherston of the ball, with Comsia flipping the ball to a streaking trio of T-Birds attackers, who quickly made their way up the field.<\/p>\n

At the other end, it was again Comsia and Norman who would connect. With Norman getting the ball on a two-on-one, he made the smart play to instead play the ball back to the trailing Comsia, who was all alone at the top of the box, with all four Tigers defenders having overpursued the other T-Birds who had rushed into the zone. With a near eternity to take his shot, Comsia made no mistake, painting the top left corner to put the \u2018Birds up two.<\/p>\n


\n\"With
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n UBC midfielder Luke Norman shields the ball from multiple incoming Dalhousie defenders. After opening the scoring for UBC, Norman made a smart play to set up Max Comsia for UBC\u2019s second on the day. Courtesy Toronto Varsity Blues\n<\/p>\n

There was more than a third of the game left at this point, but it was over. The pace of play slowed to a crawl, and at times, it seemed like UBC was just trying to wind the clock down \u2014 just passing the ball between defenders in their own end. Dalhousie didn\u2019t pressure them, and UBC didn\u2019t look to push the ball upfield. Both teams were resigned to the result.<\/p>\n

The T-Birds would add a third goal in the final 10 minutes, with Godbout setting up forward Markus Rukavina off the rebound for an easy one, but it was little more than salt in the wound. Dalhousie\u2019s season was over, and UBC was headed to the consolation final.<\/p>\n

For the powerhouse that was the Thunderbirds this year, this game was little more than a formality \u2014 and while they certainly deserve credit for playing so dominant after such a stinging defeat \u2014 they clearly weren\u2019t playing up to their full potential. They did their job, and they moved on.<\/p>\n

They won\u2019t be able to do that in their next game, however. While the consolation bracket usually isn\u2019t a place to expect heavyweight bouts, the consolation final between UBC and the tournament\u2019s host, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, may well be one.<\/p>\n


\n\"A
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\n UBC defender Marcus Puhlaj handles the ball. For Puhlaj and UBC\u2019s other senior players, the consolation final against Toronto will be their final game as a Thunderbird. Courtesy Toronto Varsity Blues\n<\/p>\n

The Varsity Blues, similarly to the T-Birds, also endured a shocker in the first round. After an impressive 10\u20131\u20131 regular season, Toronto emerged from the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs as the conference champion, beating York 2\u20130 to come into the U Sports championship in the best possible position, as the host and the number one seed.<\/p>\n

Then, against L\u2019Universit\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 Trois-Rivi\u00e8res (UQTR), it all collapsed. Despite UQTR being down a man after a 77th minute red card, the Varsity Blues gave up the game-winner in extra time, ending their season on a 3\u20132 loss. Toronto also had an easy get-right game against an AUS foe in Cape Breton in the consolation semifinals, beating up on the Capers 5\u20130, setting up a battle for fifth place. It\u2019s an unexpected matchup \u2014 both UBC and Toronto had better regular season records than the two teams in the gold medal game, York and Mount Royal \u2014 but that makes it an exciting one.<\/p>\n

For both teams, the season ended in disappointment with a quarterfinals loss. But by taking down a titan to secure fifth, whomever wins can at least take back some of their pride.<\/p>\n

First online Nov. 15, 2025, 11:07 a.m.<\/p>\n

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