VICTORIA, BC – Thursday evening (Nov. 12) at the University of Victoria's Centennial Stadium, the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team were defeated 3-0 by the top-seeded UBC Thunderbirds in quarterfinal action at the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships. The Gryphons, who earned a spot at nationals thanks to their OUA silver medal finish, were able to hang early on with the 14-time national champions from UBC, with the two teams deadlocked at 0-0 after 45 minutes of play. Gryphons second-year goalkeeper
Liam Glas was sharp throughout the day, turning away several UBC attacks throughout the first hour-plus of play. But in the 67th minute the UBC Thunderbirds, the lone undefeated team in the country this season, would finally find the breakthrough, when fourth-year midfielder Oliver Herbert was able to finish off a UBC counterattack to put the No. 1-seeded Thunderbirds up 1-0 on the No. 8-seeded Gryphons. In the 75th minute, the Canada West champions would double their lead, with Oliver Herbert scoring his second of the match to put UBC up 2-0. A third goal from UBC substitute Sebastian Agerskov would seal the win for the Thunderbirds, who advance to the national semifinal on Friday night. The Gryphons, appearing at the national championship tournament for the first time since 2021, will now head to the consolation side of the bracket, and will face either the University of Victoria Vikes or McGill Redbirds in a consolation semifinal matchup on Friday at 3:30pm ET (1:30pm in BC).
Earlier in the day, the Montreal Carabins defeated the OUA champion TMU Bold, 1-0, while the No. 7-seeded Alberta Golden Bears took down the No. 2-seeded Cape Breton Capers. All games from the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships can be streamed for free, live online on CBC's digital platforms (
CBC Gem,
CBC Sports.ca,
CBC Sports Youtube).
