Bold season comes to a close with fifth place finish at nationals

By Keirsten Spade

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s soccer team defeated the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) 2-1 in their last game of the season at the U Sports national championship in Kamloops, B.C. on a chilly Saturday afternoon.

After defeating St. Francis Xavier University in the consolation semi-final, the Bold came into this match hoping to claim fifth in the country—and they did just that, marking the team’s second win at the national tournament in program history.

This matchup saw two teams from two different conferences going head to head.

The game was one of the warmest games of the competition at -2 degrees.

Both teams hoped to spark the pressure early on. Each squad started the first half with few chances but eventually the Bold’s switching of play and long balls into open areas found success thanks to the strong effort of TMU’s captain Christian Westlaken.

UQTR nearly scored the first goal of the match on a close chance in the 13th minute. Bold goalkeeper Eduard Ambrus controlled the momentum for his team with a great save, catching the shot near the right post. 

Kai Martin and Tristan Marshall were key players for the Bold in the first half, making sure their defensive line was always getting the job done against UQTR attacks.

In the end of the first half, which saw the Bold forced into turnovers with high pressure, the ball found the bottom right corner of the TMU net off the foot of UQTR’s talented striker Gabriel Wiethaeuper-Balbinotti. 

To start the second half, the game began to turn in TMU’s favour. With continuous speed and pressure from the Bold’s forwards, they forced a poor clearance out of UQTR’s defensive backline which in turn saw a set piece fall into the corner of the 18 yard box off the feet of forward Zakaria Abdi to tie the match 1-1.

The Bold’s momentum allowed them to break the tie in the 73rd minute when Abdi scored his second of the match, blasting the ball into the right corner of the goal. The one goal cushion was enough for the Bold to hold on, capturing the win.

TMU’s season comes to an end at the U Sports national tournament with a consolation championship.  The season was a more than successful one for the Bold, making history with a nationals berth as well as an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) silver medal.  The team also saw four players named OUA all-stars this season.

UP NEXT: The Bold head into the off-season with plenty to be proud of.