TORONTO, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team came up just short in their pursuit of an OUA title, losing 3-0 on Saturday night (Nov. 7) to the TMU Bold at Downsview Park in Toronto. For TMU, it marks the first conference title in their program's history.
The Gryphons, ranked No. 7 in the latest U SPORTS Top 10 polls, arrived in Toronto to face the No. 6-ranked TMU Bold with the OUA title on the line. TMU opened the scoring in the 21' minute on a long distance shot from Exosse Kadiebue, which Gryphons keeper
Liam Glas was able to get a hand to, but not able to keep out, as the Bold jumped out to a 1-0 lead. In the 41' minute, the Gryphons came close to an equalizer, when a shot from
Aidan O'Keeffe headed for the top corner was turned away nicely from TMU keeper Dante Ferraro to keep the score at 1-0 TMU heading into the half.
In the second half, the Gryphons would continue to push for the tying goal, with OUA First Team All-Star
Ambrose Tinmouth going on a great run and cutting in on his right foot before rolling a shot just wide of the post. TMU would extend their lead to 2-0 in the 87' minute when another long distance shot glanced off the hands of
Liam Glas and then off the crossbar, before falling to Taha Ilyass who finished from point blank to give the Bold the insurance goal. With Guelph pressing late, TMU would add one more late, to seal the 3-0 and their first OUA title in program history.
The OUA silver medal finish for the Gryphons caps a memorable OUA playoff run that included road playoff wins over the Waterloo Warriors, reigning national champion York Lions and the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks. The Gryphons postseason run is not over yet, as both Guelph and TMU will no turn their attention to the national championships, with both teams heading to Victoria, B.C. for the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships (Nov. 12-15). Seedings and schedules for the upcoming national championships will be announced on Sunday (Nov. 8) with all games from the 2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships streamed for free, live online on CBC's digital platforms (
CBC Gem,
CBC Sports.ca,
CBC Sports Youtube).
