MSOC: CW Final Preview

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Nov. 3, 2023 - The UBC Thunderbirds can reach heights only they have seen.

The Mount Royal Cougars can reach heights they’ve never seen.

No matter the outcome, history will be made when the T-Bids and Cougars compete in the 2023 Canada West men’s soccer championship match, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. MT Saturday (Nov. 4) at Mount Royal Stadium Field in Calgary. Catch the action live on Canada West TV.

UBC is going for a sixth straight gold medal, which would equal its own Canada West men’s soccer record for consecutive championship victories, set by the T-Birds from 1989 to 1994.

That was some two decades before Mount Royal even joined Canada West. Now following MRU’s 11th season as a member of the conference, the Cougars are one win from capturing the Canada West Men’s Soccer Trophy for the first time.

Not only that, this is also the first gold medal final appearance for the Cougars, who punched their ticket last Sunday (Oct. 29) when they defeated the Victoria Vikes 3-1 in extra time at Stadium Field.

UBC, meanwhile blanked the Alberta Golden Bears 3-0 in Vancouver last Saturday (Oct. 28) to advance to the championship match for the 12^th time in the last 13 postseasons, including eight in a row since 2015.

Mount Royal (first in the Prairie Division with an 11-2-1 record) and the T-Birds (first in the Pacific Division standings with an 13-1-2 record), have been on a collision course since the 2023 Canada West regular season began in late August.

UBC won its first five matches and didn’t suffer a loss until after Thanksgiving. Mount Royal didn’t concede a goal until the ninth match in its schedule, a 2-1 loss to UBC on Sept. 23 at Thunderbird Stadium. That was the only meeting during the 2023 regular season between the championship finalists.  

This is a match of strength vs. strength: UBC was the highest scoring Canada West team in the regular season, with a 2.50 goals per game average, while no squad was more defensively stout than the Cougars, who conceded just 0.36 goals per match.

MRU’s Aidan Dumoulin, who led all U SPORTS goalkeepers in the regular season with 10 clean sheets, will face fire from T-Birds striker Sebastian Dzikowski, who ranked first nationally with 15 regular season goals.

The Cougars and T-Birds have previously crossed paths twice in the Canada West playoffs, with UBC winning both times, 3-0 in a 2018 quarterfinal match and 1-0 in extra time two years ago in the semi-finals.

Both teams have already secured a spot at the U SPORTS National Championship, taking place Nov. 9-12 in Sydney, N.S., where MRU and UBC will represent Canada West against the most elite men’s university soccer squads from across the country.