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For over two hours, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades men’s soccer team played a perfect defensive game against the top team in the nation – but at almost the last possible second it came crashing down. The Cascades challenged the unbeaten UBC Thunderbirds in the Canada West semifinal at Thunderbirds Stadium on Sunday (Oct. 26) and were poised to see the scoreless game go to penalty kicks until several bad bounces in front of the Cascades net led to a Henri Godbout goal during injury time of the final overtime period. A cross from UBC’s Marcus Puhalj was unable to be cleared and then a shot from Thunderbirds midfielder Luke Norman was blocked by the UFV defence. The ball then ended up on the foot of Godbout, who buried a shot in the low right corner past Cascades goalkeeper Matheus De Souza. Devastating end for UFV. They concede a goal with just a few seconds to go, it's over. UBC advances to the @CanadaWest final pic.twitter.com/ewtdwX8rnF — Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) October 26, 2025 Injury time for the 30-minute extra period ran out shortly after the goal and the Thunderbirds escaped with the 1-0 victory. It put a damper on what was a phenomenal defensive effort by the Cascades, who were the only team this season to earn a point off UBC. The Thunderbirds finished the season at 15-0-1 – with UFV’s 0-0 tie with UBC on Oct. 5 in Abbotsford as the club’s only blemish. The Cascades played a stout defensive game, which saw five men play very effective defence in front of De Souza. They didn’t allow UBC to penetrate the middle of the field and the Thunderbirds were forced to attack from the sides for the entire game. As a result, UBC managed just three shots on goal – with 14 directed at De Souza. UFV recorded three shots on goal and nine directed at the UBC goalkeeper – and had did have some strong counterattacks in the latter stages of regulation and extra time. Mailand with a good chance there, still scoreless pic.twitter.com/QXdyDve6wP — Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) October 26, 2025 “It’s a heartbreaker of an ending. Probably an ending we didn’t deserve, but that is football sometimes,” noted UFV head coach Tom Lowndes after the game. “I’m running out of words to describe the lads, who were unbelievable again. They stuck to the game plan, and put in an unbelievable defensive shift to keep them off the scoreboard for 124 minutes. We had moments too, where we caused problems on the counterattack, and I just can’t say enough about this group. We deserved a bit more, but we were playing a top team that has been there, done it, and they found a way to win.” De Souza with a good read here pic.twitter.com/TE2YQpjUjF — Ben Lypka (@BenLypka) October 26, 2025 UFV’s likely strategy was to stretch the game into penalty kicks and rely on star goalie De Souza, who is regarded as one of the best in the country at PK’s. This marks the second consecutive year that UFV has lost to UBC in the CW semifinal. The Cascades fell 2-0 in 120 minutes to UBC in 2024. It’s gutting for us,” Lowndes added. “I walked into the change room and there were guys crying their eyes out and hugging each other. They’re just gutted and it shows how close we were, and how desperately the want it. I’m just really proud of the collective effort. For us to go to back-to-back final fours, from a little school in Abbotsford, and to take UBC to extra time two years in a row. It shows where this program has gone, and that’s down to the players and the effort that they have put in.” The Thunderbirds also praised the challenge posed by UFV. ⚽️ MSOC | T-Birds head coach Mike Mosher on advancing to another U SPORTS National Championship after a dramatic @CanadaWest semifinal win over the Cascades pic.twitter.com/OcaSwHUaSE — UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 27, 2025 “It’s not easy – teams are well coached, well organized and when they sit in like that it’s difficult,” UBC head coach Mike Mosher said after the match. “We persevered and you play to the final whistle.” The Cascades advanced to the semifinal after a 2-0 win in extra time over the Calgary Dinos on Friday (Oct. 24). UFV got goals from Adam Szymanski (103rd minute) and Grischa Heider (120th minute) to earn the win. De Souza made eight saves to post the shutout win. UBC now takes on the Mount Royal Cougars in the Canada West final in Calgary on Sunday (Nov. 1). The loss ends an excellent season for the Cascades, who finished at 7-4-4 and striker Mateo Brazinha led the conference with 13 goals and 15 points. For more on the team, visit gocascades.ca.
