‘Just Having Fun’—UBC Soccer Makes Canada West Titles Routine as Gold Standard U Sports Program

VANCOUVER—The UBC Thunderbirds have a lofty standard when it comes to soccer. 

Over the combined 41 years of men’s head coach Mike Mosher and women’s head coach Jesse Symons, they have won 17 Canada West titles—including the two most recent, added Friday night at Thunderbird Stadium. 

Consistently competing with challengers from the rabid NCAA collegiate circuit in the preseason, the two programs are bona fide leaders in Canadian post-secondary soccer. They win like no other, the international representation is rivalled by none, and few have produced more significant Canadian Premier League and Northern Super League players. 

On Friday, UBC women cruised past the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 3-1 to secure a fourth Canada West title in five years, with a goal and an assists from Sienna Gibson, who balanced student-athlete life with playing for Canada at the U20 World Cup this fall—limiting her to seven regular-season games. 

“Honestly, I can't say enough about the sisterhood. Like, this team is just so close, and I think that's a huge impact on our performance and just like our connection on the field as well as off the field,” she told Sports Page BC, having raised her second Canada West title with the Thunderbirds. 

“It just plays a huge role in how we all play and really helped me feel connected even when I was away... I think we just all support each other in all ways and in all aspects, from school to soccer and anything else that gets thrown at us, it’s just how tight we are, and that shows when we play.”

View post on X ↗

Before the rush of the women’s celebrations had tapered, the men’s team found themselves playing for yet another Canada West title, with a lineup featuring four players with significant Canadian Premier League experience. 

It wasn’t a simple victory; they conceded the opening goal to a pesky Alberta Golden Bears side, but a 3-2 win and a stingy late effort saw them capture a 24th Canada West banner. 

Their celebrations, while beaming, reflected the standards the program holds for itself. 

Canada West titles, as elusive as they seemed for the silver medalists of TRU and Alberta on Friday, are the minimum expectation for the Thunderbirds. They celebrated as such, with eyes on next week’s national titles, with the women having a chance to play for another trophy at home, while the men head to Victoria. 

Trophy Lifts Become a UBC Routine

The women’s team in particular has not come out on the losing side of a Canada West game in regulation time in 59 contests and has claimed two U Sports titles and three Canada West titles since losing to the Calgary Dinos on Oct. 1, 2023. Within the game, star midfielders Bailey Doersken and Jayda Thompson celebrated with the intensity of a final—the trophy lift, though, looked like they’d been there before, which, of course, they have. 

"For me, that was our game of the year so far," Symons said. "The passing, the combination, we really challenged our team to put in a full team effort. They found a way on a free kick to score for them, but full class and quality from our team today for the full 90 minutes."

View post on X ↗

It wasn’t too different on the men’s side, albeit with slightly more vigour, given the tense contest and the final home pitch moment for seniors, including centre-back Eric Lajuenesse, who will go down as one of the program’s brightest talents, having already amassed 50 professional appearances with Pacific FC.

“I knew that was going to be my last game at this stadium, so it meant that much more to get the win,” Lajuenesse told Sports Page BC, as he eyed next week’s national tournament, before exploring options after completing his Biology degree and university soccer career. 

“I think the way we won facing adversity is something we couldn't do last year. So the fact that we can do it this year, I'm very optimistic going into nationals; it’s nice that next week is going to be close, and obviously, I know quite a bit about playing on Vancouver Island.”

The Fun of the Sport

Next week, when schools from across Canada make their way to the West Coast, UBC will look for glory once again, seeking the crowning achievement in Canadian university sports. 

Should both teams claim gold medals, it would mark the second time in three years that UBC has won both titles. And with how both teams are playing? That’s the standard, and where expectations stand heading into the single-knockout tournament. 

“Next week, I think it’s about just sticking to our principles, like the responsibilities that we've held on to throughout the whole season,” Gibson said, with a beaming smile. “But also just having fun, leaving everything out on the field. I think today, everyone was just having so much fun while you were playing, and that’s huge for us; we’re really enjoying ourselves.”