THUNDERBIRDS 2

VIKES 1

The UBC Thunderbirds defeated the University of Victoria Vikes 2-1 in overtime in the Canada West men’s soccer final at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver Saturday night.

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The game was largely irrelevant on one count, since the top two teams in Canada West gained berths into the CIS national championship tournament from next Thursday to Sunday at York University in Toronto. Both the Vikes and Thunderbirds went into the conference championship game knowing they had already qualified for nationals.

The key fixtures were actually the conference semifinals Friday night, in which the Vikes defeated the Trinity Western Spartans 2-1 with a late goal by Sam Prette to book their place at the national championships, while UBC beat the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-0 to also advance.

In fitting bookends, the Vikes are headed to the national tournament for the first time since current fifth-year co-captains Cam Hundal and Craig Gorman were rookies in 2011.

Hundal, named this year’s Canada West MVP, was the 2011 CIS championship MVP as a freshman when the Vikes last appeared at nationals and won the 2011 CIS title at home at Centennial Stadium.