Eagles crowned champions for second straight outdoor season
UTM defeats UTSG Red in the men’s soccer final, making them the first back-to-back champions in school history.
After last weekend’s snowstorm in the GTA forced the men’s soccer finals to be postponed, the Eagles finally faced the University of St. George Red (UTSG) for the second straight year in the rescheduled final at Varsity Field.
The Eagles and UTSG Red split their series during the regular season, with both teams winning their home matches. But all that meant nothing to the two teams, and as the -2 degree Celsius wind whipped around the half-frozen Varsity Field, the Eagles were ready to prey again, but UTSG Red was determined this year they’d fight back.
Eagles fly into a first-half lead
The Eagles were on top of their opponents during the first 20 minutes of the opening half. They completed more passes, had more shots on target, and held possession in UTSG’s defensive third. Despite their domination in the opening exchanges, UTM struggled to break through a deep UTSG backline.
The deadlock was finally broken by the Eagles’ #14 Aiden Gideon, who wrapped his foot around the ball at the edge of the box and fired it past the UTSG keeper. The goal was nearly a perfect replica of his semi-final strike against UTSG Blue, and just like in the previous match, the Eagles flocked to the corner flag in a frenzied celebration.
UTM didn’t sit back with their one-goal lead but continued to attack their opponents. They substituted in their backup striker, Kacper Ambrozewicz, onto the field at the 35-minute mark in search of their second goal. Ambrozewicz was caught offside three times within a few minutes and was met with abuse from the away fans—“Watch your line!” Ambrozewicz coldly stared at the fans in response, and perfectly pinged a cross-field pass into the path of Ethan Swan and nearly gave the Eagles a brace before half. Only minutes later, Krish Chaven would double the Eagles’ lead with a scrappy goal from a corner kick.
Another two in the second
Chaven came up clutch again as he scored his second and UTM’s third goal in the game. The players and coaching staff couldn’t contain their excitement. The Eagles threw away their blankets, flew off the bench, and piled on top of the goalscorer.
The match went from bad to worse for UTSG after the third goal. Number 25 picked up his second yellow card and was removed from the game for unsportsmanlike behaviour after he brought Aidan Gideon to the ground when the ball was out of play. The gap left by #25’s absence led to the fourth goal for UTM. Aiden Gideon ran with the ball from the halfway line all the way to the edge of the box, where he squared a pass to Ethan Swan, who slotted the ball into the back of the net.
The referee had seen enough and blew the final whistle moments after the goal. The Eagles gathered together in celebration, launching their elated Coach Szabi into the air, and began chanting their victory hymns. Between outdoor and indoor seasons, the victory marked their third straight men’s soccer championship—the first three-peat in UTM’s history.
Captain Confidence
Pietro Arrigoni, UTM’s captain, gave his thoughts on what that performance meant to the squad. “The performance really came from our pride. Today, we demonstrated why we deserve to be champions.”
The Eagles were feeling the pressure before the match, but they never doubted their quality. “We found strength in one another as the unity of our group has made us so successful,” Arrigoni added.
Arrigoni was still out of breath from his team’s wild celebration on their third goal, but admitted this was something he’d never forget. “I was exhausted and barely had the energy to run to celebrate, but seeing the bench clear and all the guys hugging and celebrating made me realize just how much I value this team, this project, the opportunity to represent our amazing school in this competition, and the group of guys I have the pleasure to share these moments with.”
