An all-Quebec clash in U SPORTS action saw the University of Quebec Trois Rivieres Patriotes claim the Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time, defeating defending champions Montreal Carabins in the gold medal match.

The university side’s first-ever Championship win came just one week after losing to the Carabins in the RSEQ conference final.

With the match taking place at 5,100-seat CEPSUM Stadium, both sides took to the pitch in front of supporters who provided a championship-level atmosphere: smoke bombs, chants, and waving flags provided a top-tier matchday experience not often seen in the domestic U SPORTS game.

It took the Patriotes just 28 minutes to open the scoring, with forward Guillaume Comtois-Noel converting a close-range effort following a long-distance shot from outside of the box.

The Carabins responded in the second half by pressing hard, firing some 19 shots on target in the second half alone. Patriotes goalkeeper Felix Clapin-Girard stood firm, however, keeping his side in the game and paving the way for late-game theatrics.

With the Carabins throwing it all forward, Patriotes man Gabriel Balbinotti was able to loft a long ball into an open net in the 94th minute, triggering the referee to immediately blow the full-time whistle as the on-field celebrations began without delay.

Goalkeeper Clapin-Girard made history by being the first to record three shut-outs throughout the U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship, earning himself Tournament MVP accolades for his performances that kept the underdogs in the running.

We talked about writing history in the locker room and that’s what we’ve done. We play really solid defense as a team and we had added motivation losing to Montreal last week in the RSEQ conference final. Today we had the final word and we’re champions. Felix Clapin-Girard

With the CPL-U SPORTS Draft due to take place today, it’ll be interesting to see if the impressive performances from Quebec Student Sport Federation athletes leads to a bigger selection of french student-athletes in the draft.

Interested fans can tune in to the Canadian Premier League official YouTube and IGTV social media channels to see the results of the draft at 7:00PM EST.

In 2018, there were no RSEQ athletes selected in the first round of the draft, with only Andre Bona (UQAM) and Aboubacar Sissoko (Montreal) representing RSEQ athlete selections in the second round. Of those, only Bona ultimately signed on with a Canadian Premier League side.

Elsewhere, the bronze medal game would see the Cape Breton Capers secure a 3-2 victory over the Carleton Ravens to finish third overall in the tournament. Former Halifax man Peter Schaale and Capers forward Cory Bent, who scored the game-wining goal, would be the only non-RSEQ athletes to be named in the U SPORTS Tournament All-Star Team.

Source: U SPORTS

Header Image Credit: U SPORTS