Men’s Soccer
Bronze medal game: Bent secures third-place finish for Capers with penalty strike
Goalkeeper Félix Clapin-Girard made 15 saves for his third shutout of the tournament, as the UQTR Patriotes captured their first national title with a 2-0 win over the defending champion Montreal Carabins in the gold medal match of the 2019 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship presented by La Cage – Brasserie sportive in Montreal.
⚽️🏆Final Score: 2-0 for @PatriotesUQTR as they defeat host @Carabins in the @USPORTSca Final / Marque finale: 2-0 pour @PatriotesUQTR qui bat @Carabins en la finale du U SPORTS
— U SPORTS Soccer (@USPORTS_Soccer) November 10, 2019
🥇@PatriotesUQTR🥇#ChaseTheGlory | #ViserHaut pic.twitter.com/AoxFt77Jjq
Forward Guillaume Comtois-Noël netted the game-winning goal in the 28th minute and set up teammate Gabriel Balbinotti just before the final whistle to clinch the championship for the Patriotes.
Clapin-Girard was named tournament MVP for his outstanding performance and says he wanted to achieve something incredible this weekend.
“We talked about writing history in the locker room and that’s what we’ve done,” said the third-year environmental geography student. “We play really solid defence as a team and we had added motivation losing to Montreal last week in the RSEQ conference final. Today we had the final word and we’re champions.”
🏆🥇Congratulations to the @PatriotesUQTR, 2019 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Champions! / Félicitations aux @PatriotesUQTR, championnes de soccer masculin U SPORTS 2019 !
— U SPORTS Soccer (@USPORTS_Soccer) November 10, 2019
Presented by / présenté par @_LaCage @PatriotesUQTR 2-0 @Carabins #ChaseTheGlory | #ViserHaut pic.twitter.com/S3X2Pfbwc8
The Carabins pressed most of the second half, sending 19 shots on target in the final 45 minutes of play.
“The Carabins were never blanked in the regular season,” said Patriotes coach Shany Black. “We would have like to have controlled the game a little more in the second half, but Félix came through for us.”
The Carabins were in their third consecutive U SPORTS final, losing to Cape Breton in 2017 before capturing gold a year ago.
“We’re disappointed with the score, but I’m proud of how our team played,” commented Carabins head coach Pat Raimondo. “We played the way we wanted to, but give UQTR full credit, they played three big games in four days to win the tournament.”
The Patriotes finish the 2019 season with an overall record of 14-3-0, while the Carabins end the campaign with a 13-2-2 mark in RSEQ conference and U SPORTS championship play.
Nike Top Performers
UQTR: Félix Clapin-Girard
Montréal: Pierre Lamothe
MVP & Top goalkeeper
- UQTR - Félix Clapin-Girard
Tournament All-Star Team
- Goalkeeper: Félix Clapin-Girard (UQTR)
- Defender: Guillaume Pianelli-Balisoni (UQTR)
- Defender: Guillaume Comtois-Noel (UQTR)
- Defender: Peter Schaale (Cape Breton)
- Defender: Ismail Sow (Montréal)
- Defender: Corentin Artaillou (UQTR)
- Midfielder: Thomas Leathead (UQTR)
- Midfielder: Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbiotti (UQTR)
- Midfielder: Omar Kreim (Montréal)
- Midfielder: Pierre Lamothe (Montréal)
- Forward: Cory Bent (Cape Breton
- Forward: Guy-Frank Essomé-Penda (Montréal)
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award
- Carleton Ravens