MSOC Final Preview: UBC, MRU ready for third straight title clash
Cougars host T-Birds in conference championship rubber match
Article by Brian Swane, special to CW
Oct. 31, 2025 - For the third consecutive year, the Mount Royal Cougars and UBC Thunderbirds will meet in the Canada West men’s soccer championship final, this Saturday (Nov. 1) at 1 p.m. MDT at Stadium Field in Calgary.
This is the rubber match between the powerhouse programs, who split their two prior meetings in the gold match. Last year, the Thunderbirds defeated the Cougars 1-0 in Vancouver, avenging a 1-0 loss at Mount Royal in 2023.
Since returning to the pitch in August, the Cougars and Thunderbirds seemed to be taking concurrent courses back to the championship final. They both finished the regular season atop the standings of their respective divisions, earning home field advantage for the opening two rounds of the Canada West playoffs last week. But nothing ever comes easy in a conference with the depth of Canada West, and it took heroic performances to ensure a rematch of the championship rematch.
The Cougars trailed late in their semifinal tilt with the Victoria Vikes, before Joshua Flaksman scored in the 90th minute to level the score at 3-3. Penalties were required after neither team scored in extra time, and it came down to Cougars goalkeeper Sjard Strauss converting his attempt to lift Mount Royal to victory.
Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds also went to extra time, deadlocked in a scoreless tie with the Fraser Valley Cascades. The match likewise appeared headed for penalties, until UBC’s Henri Godbout scored on the last kick of stoppage time, giving UBC a 1-0 win in the most dramatic finish imaginable.
Mount Royal and UBC played once during the 2025 regular season, with the visiting Thunderbirds winning by a score 2-0 at MRU Field #2 on Sept. 20, thanks to goals from Godbout and Luke Norman.
UBC ranked first in the Canada West regular season in both goals scored and fewest allowed. Godbout leads the Thunderbirds with eights goals in the regular season and postseason combined. UBC goalkeeper Jack Garner has been beaten just six times in 13 matches over the regular season and playoffs, and is currently riding a three-match shutout streak.
Mount Royal is also stout defensively, allowing the second fewest goals in the conference during the regular season, with Strauss recording six clean sheets. Offensively the Cougars are powered by first-year sensation Chanan Chanda, the conference's Rookie of the Year, who scored twice in the first half against Victoria, bringing his total to 10 goals spanning the regular season and postseason.
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This will be the first time since UBC battled Victoria for gold in 2000, 2001, and 2002, that the same two sides faced each other in three consecutive Canada West men’s soccer finals. UBC has won six of the last seven conference championships, with Mount Royal’s gold medal victory in 2023 being the lone outlier.
Catch the game live on Canada West TV - Powered by BioSteel.
