Blazers Men's Soccer Make History at their First Appearance at a CCAA Nationals
The team poses for a group photo prior to the CCAA Men's Soccer Awards Banquet
The Blazers Men's Soccer team travelled back on Sunday from Montreal, QC where they made program, school, and MCAC history at their first appearance at a CCAA National Championships. The team qualified for the tournament after winning the MCAC title over the final weekend of October, which features eight of the top collegiate teams from across Canada.
The MCAC has sent its top team to the tournament since the 2021-22 season, when the provincial conference was officially fully accepted into the national association, but this is the first time a CMU soccer program has qualified after previous appearances by the Brandon Bobcats and St Boniface Rouges over the last four years. Twenty student-athletes alongside three coaches and a support crew made the trek on Monday, November 3rd, with the tournament schedule beginning with training sessions at the competition site along the St Lawrence Seaway in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Lambert on Tuesday followed by the opening ceremony and awards banquet to kick off the festivities. CMU's own MCAC coach of the year Gode Katembo was recognized over the dinner, as well as All-Canadian recipient Romaine Francis.
The Blazers had the honour of opening the tournament against the Ontario champions Conestoga Condors in Wednesday's first match. While the game started well for CMU who managed to hold their own against the Conestoga side for much of the first half, some defensive breakdowns and lapses in structure gave the Condors all the space they needed to exploit the Blazers, racking up some quick tallies that put the game out of reach. It was a bit of a rude welcome to the national-level game for a CMU side that was determined to make progress for the province. Veteran midfielder Messager Mumbere, who came in relief during the second half was named player of the match for CMU when the dust settled on the 0-6 loss; a scoreline that was not very indicative of the overall game play.
Wednesday's quarterfinal loss led to a matchup with the best of Alberta in the NAIT Ooks on Thursday, who themselves were upset by the hosts Champlain in their match the previous day. With some lessons learned from their game one loss, the Blazers played a much more polished style deep into the second half, with the game's first goal still on the table. Perhaps already thinking of the possibilities of penalties, the Blazers allowed a late opportunity, and the Ooks swooped in and notched the only goal of the match in the 85th-minute, taking away any chance for a medal for Manitoba, and sending them to the placement match on day three. Rookie defender Ethan Bourke was named player of the game for CMU after largely holding the NAIT side to outside chances until the final minutes.
Still looking for their first goal of the tournament, CMU could easily have packed it in and mailed in their final contest, but with provincial pride and progress still on the line, the Blazers were inspired to end nationals on a high and at the very least a program first tally. Facing an underperforming Capilano side, who themselves had only mustered one goal through their own two matches, CMU came out buzzing, controlling play against the PacWest champs out of the gate. History was made in the thirteenth minute as MCAC Championships MVP Taiwo Oshode pounded a cross into the gaping net, recording the first goal at a national championship in Blazers' soccer history. With their opposition reeling, the Blazers continued their hot start as moments later All-Conference selection Tristen Holfeld lasered a ball into the bottom corner, starting what looked to be a rout in the 7th-place match. After a couple more glorious chances just missed the mark, the celebrations came to an abrupt halt as All-Canadian Romaine Francis was tackled in the box just as he was loading for another shot, crumpling the star Jamaican-born winger to the turf. With no foul called and the Blazers down their prolific scorer the game plan suddenly turned to holding the lead, a tall task with sixty minutes left to play and the momentum shifted decidedly towards the best of B.C. to start taking chances. The Blues did just that, shaving the Blazers' lead down to one early in the second half, but a brilliant counter by rookie winger Siem Petros, who came in relief of the downed Francis, led to a Capilano own-goal to restore the two-goal lead. The Blues continued to press on their now defensive CMU opponent and pulled back within one about midway through the second half, but rookie goalkeeper Nicholas Peterson stood tall, turning away shot after shot, recording nine saves on the day and preserving the CMU win in regulation, the first for an MCAC men's soccer side. Goal-scorer Tristen Holfeld took home man of the match honours in the team's final appearance of the tournament.
With program, school, and MCAC history made the Blazers enjoyed the final tournament day, watching their previous opponents NAIT and Conestoga battle it out for bronze, and then powerhouse Humber eventually taking home gold over the hosts Champlain College. In another first for Blazers Athletics, Messager Mumbere was named to the CCAA Championship All-Star team, consisting of the top eleven players of the tournament. Despite two appearances in a men's volleyball nationals, and one women's volleyball nationals, this is the first time a CMU athlete has been named to the all-star team.
The Blazers showed clear progress throughout their matches, each time producing a higher level of play for longer stretches, giving the team some invaluable experience of what to expect should they qualify for another nationals next year. Head coach Gode Katembo certainly sees potential in his squad to return to the big dance in the coming seasons, and has now seen first-hand the level of play needed to compete at the highest level of collegiate sport in the country. "We now know what it takes to be successful and win in Manitoba, but we are hungrier than ever for more. This experience has only reinforced my vision to continue to improve our level to a point where we can fight for multiple wins and even a medal at this tournament to make CMU and all of Manitoba proud."
With the fall reading break just beginning, the team comes home and has the chance to catch up on their studies before restarting training indoors in a week's time. Katembo and the Blazers will shift gears to the futsal game, where they hope to bring home a second provincial title in the same season to cap off their historic run.
