Men’s Soccer
MSOC BRONZE- UBC avenges CW championship loss with U SPORTS bronze medal win
A goal in first-half stoppage time by Jacob Spizzirri was all that was needed as the hosts Cape Breton Capers laid down a 1-0 win over the Montreal Carabins in the championship game of the 2023 Protocase U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship in Sydney, N.S.
Spizzirri, Cape Breton’s player of the game, found the back of the net off an assist by Max Piepgrass, to bring home the national championship trophy in front of the home crowd at Ness Timmons Field on a windy Sunday afternoon.
The win marks the second national championship for Cape Breton, their first since 2017 where they also bested the Montreal squad.
With both teams playing even throughout the first half, Montreal consistently pushed to equalize throughout the second half, firing 10 shots. Their best opportunity came on a kick from Alexander Katsaros that went over the net in the 84th minute. However, third-year Caper goalkeeper Daniel Clarke, effectively stopped all 6 of the shots on goal he faced in the game
This is the sixth straight medal for Carabins. They now have a complete set of medals in the three post-pandemic championships, following bronze last year and gold in 2021.
The 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship is scheduled to be hosted by Ontario Tech in Oshawa, Ont.
Nike Team Players of the Game
- Cape Breton: Adam Spizzirri
- Montréal: Adam Benmoussa
Tournament MVP: Owen Sheppard, Cape Breton
Tournament All-Stars:
- Daniel Clarke, GK, Cape Breton
- Kareem Sow, D, Montréal
- Caden Rogozinski, D, Mount Royal
- Sebastian Cochrane, D, Cape Breton
- Yohan Le Bounis, D, Montréal
- Markus Kaiser, MF, UBC
- Adam Benmoussa, MF, Montréal
- Max Piepgrass, MF, Cape Breton
- Quentin Paumier, MF, Montréal
- Jacob Spizzirri, MF, Cape Breton
- Owen Sheppard, F, Cape Breton
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: STFX X-Men