Written by Carlein Kay
In spite of the cold weather, the TRU Wolfpack brought the heat this weekend for the U Mens Sports Championship in the Gold medal final against UBC Thunderbirds. Winning 2-1 in the third shootout in as many games, the Wolfpack grabbed Gold in the battle of BC.
Over three days, the following top eight men’s soccer teams from across Canada came together to fight in the U Mens Sport Championships held at the Tournament Capital Centre at Hillside Stadium:
-Thompson Rivers University (TRU) from BC
-University of British Columbia (UBC) from BC
-McMaster university from Ontario
-Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) from Ontario
-Université de Montréal from Quebec
-Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) from Quebec
-Cape Breton University from Nova Scotia
-St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) from Nova Scotia
In their first game of the tournament, TRU faced off against McMaster in the freezing -12 weather. Despite the cold, McMaster started the game strong, pushing a heavy offense and forcing TRU to pull back defensively. Halfway through the first half, #5 from McMaster scored and the pressure was now on. TRU pressed back with a tighter defense and with a rebound from a free kick three minutes before halftime, #2 Pirretas Glasmacher tied the game up with a tap-in. Coming back with the game tied, both teams fought hard to gain an upper hand. McMaster was starting to show signs of fatigue not helped by the cold weather, their footwork was becoming less coordinated and positioning on the field was not as precise as it had been during the first half. TRU was also showing cracks in their front but stayed solid overall, managing to force the game into overtime and eventually a shootout with McMaster on their back foot. The second kicker from McMaster missed their goal by bouncing off the post, while TRU secured all five necessary goals to advance to the semifinals thanks to a final goal from #10 Patrick Izett.
Facing Cape Breton, the Wolfpack was starting to find their footing in this tournament, scoring first just after half-time thanks to #21 Marco Favero. Cape Breton was not going to let TRU sit back and coast to the end of the game however, they immediately applied heavy pressure and several yellow cards were handed out on both sides. In the last five minutes of the game, Cape Breton pushed forward with everyone including the goalie, eventually leading to a penalty kick from #10 Cian Lynch forcing the game into overtime. TRU was used to playing overtime now and #5 Elijah Dos Santos quickly scored only 2 minutes in. Holding a strong lead, TRU shifted entirely to defense while Cape Breton tried to chip away to find cracks in the wall. In the seventeenth minute they found that crack and #20 Muad Mohamoud tied the game up once again. Finding themselves at another shootout, goalie #1 Jackson Gardner saved two of the incoming kicks, and thanks to #10 Izett once again, the Wolfpack was now moving to the finals on home turf.
Feeling the pressure, TRU was now facing off against rival BC home team – UBC. Fans from both teams came to pack the stands and show their support for BC. UBC started off on full defense while TRU pushed hard for an early goal with several shots on goal within the first half that didn’t connect. TRU could feel the weight of playing on their home field with fans watching and a gold medal riding on the line, but held strong. In the sixty-ninth minute, #21 Marco Favero attempted an unsuccessful slide tackle on an opposing UBC player, earning him his second yellow card of the game and eventually a red card, forcing him to leave the field. Now playing with one man down, TRU was being forced back on defense by UBC. But with no goals being scored despite numerous attempts by both teams during regulation time, the final game went into overtime. Hard fought with clean footwork showing from TRU and great field awareness from UBC, both teams were pushing hard.
Playing with one less player did not stop the Wolfpack from using this opportunity to show their skill, with #18 Alesandro Comita scoring a goal with help from #11 Jost Hausendorf only ten minutes into overtime. UBC was starting to look frantic, using more rushed and unpracticed plays instead of the clean precision shown during regulation time. Eventually subbing out one of their defenders for an attacker, UBC was now on the full offensive. It worked and six minutes before the end of overtime #2 Daniel Kaiser scored a goal with a clean header thanks to a well placed free kick from #28 Thomas Gardner. Neither team was willing to let their journeys end there, and just like how the previous games this weekend ended, TRU was now in overtime for the gold medal.
Feeling very familiar in the high pressure shootout, the Wolfpack was feeding off the energy from the fans, who now had packed the bleachers and standing room at the side of the field. UBC started the shootout with five shots and four clean goals but missed their fourth attempt, while TRU cleared their first four goals successfully. It was now #10 Izett who had secured the win for TRU in their previous shootouts so far this tournament. However, an unfortunate miss above the net meant that the shootout would continue. The sixth shooter for both teams scored and it was now down to the final turn. #10 Connor Mzarek from UBC stepped up and kicked hard, but TRU goalie Gardener was faster and managed to save the ball from going in. It was now up to #22 Domenico Comita to follow his brothers lead from earlier in the game and guide the Wolfpack to victory. If he could score, TRU would take home gold. From Kamloops himself, the fans were cheering him on: and a beautiful shot into the back of the net secured the TRU Wolfpack their first gold medal in the 2022-23 U Men’s Sports Championships. The crowd exploded onto the field to swarm the team in excitement and congratulations.
The Celebration After Winning Gold Watched from my Kitchen
Such an important tournament had live coverage from CBC Sports on their Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/cbcsports where I was able to watch from home, and during the gold medal shootout, from my kitchen while making dinner with my mother. Experiencing such a tremendous show of power and teamwork is what sports are about, and with the live stream from CBC spectators from across the country could participate in this together with the help of a live chat alongside the stream.
For the spectators at Hillside Stadium, several options for keeping warm in the frigid -10 average across the weekend were available. RBC Bank had a sponsored truck that provided hot chocolate and propane powered false fire pits that you could warm your hands by. RBC also sponsored a heated viewing section for alumni athletes that only filled for the final game. A food and concession stand along with a beer garden were available, but a cold beer was not exactly the first thing someone would want to go for in such cold temperatures. At the ticket counter was Wolfpack merchandise available for purchase; the scarves, mittens and toques sold out very quickly. Two announcers for Hillside Stadium provided reminders of the sponsors and gave game updates in both English and French, while the CBC live stream had two different announcers that provided insightful commentary of the gameplay as it happened but only in English.
Overall the tournament was successful for both the Wolfpack and Kamloops, reaffirming the title of Tournament Capital of Canada. Despite the cold, spectators and players alike came together to show what really makes Kamloops a city of skill when it comes to both hosting and playing in large tournaments.
Leave a Reply