Make It CB-Two! Host Capers Capture Second National Title
The following story is courtesy of U Sports and Cape Breton Athletics from November 12, 2023.
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.
UBC Avenges CW Championship Loss With U SPORTS Bronze Medal Win
Luke Norman scored the only goal of the game to land the UBC Thunderbirds the bronze medal, defeating the Mount Royal Cougars 1-0 in the battle for third place of the 2023 U SPORTS men’s soccer championships in Sydney, N.S. on Sunday morning.
The Thunderbirds got their revenge over the Cougars in this rematch of the Canada West championships, having lost 1-0 the last time around. The first half was all UBC, taking 10 shots in the first 45 minutes. Their goal came in the 27th minute when Markus Kaiser deflected a Mount Royal clearing attempt right to Luke Norman, who beat Cougars ’keeper Aidan Dumoulin from the top of the penalty box. Bennett McKay made five saves for UBC.
Mount Royal came out in the second half searching hard for an equalizer, with seven shots and three corner kicks in the final 45 minutes, but they just could not capitalize on their opportunities. The Cougars had a great chance in the 74th minute with a header by Finn Marshall off a cross that got behind the defence, but McKay was there to make the save.
The 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship is scheduled to be hosted by Ontario Tech in Oshawa, Ont.
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
Final Rankings For 2023:
- Cape Breton
- Montréal
- UBC
- Mount Royal U
- York
- STFX
- UQTR
- Carleton
Sources: https://usports.ca/en/sports/soccer/m/news/2023/11/4154394294/msoc-gold
https://usports.ca/en/sports/soccer/m/news/2023/11/195376419/msoc-bronze