CIS: Dosanjh’s extra-time winner gives UBC Canada West revenge against Alberta

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And for Gagandeep Dosanjh and the rest of the UBC Thunderbirds, they got their revenge on the University of Alberta Golden Bears on a cold, windy Sunday in Edmonton. Dosanjh pounded home the extra-time winner to give UBC a 2-1 win over Alberta in the Canada West final. As Canada West finalists, both teams qualify for the nationals. Last season, Alberta beat UBC in the Canada West final. So it was sweet for UBC to turn the tables in Edmonton. “It feels good to get a little bit of revenge on Alberta,” said Dosanjh. “But we didn’t come into this season just looking to get revenge on Alberta. We want to win a national championship, and I think we are in a good position to do that. “And Alberta is very strong opponent — they deserve to be in the national championships, as well.” The Dosanjh goal punctuated what was a fascinating duel between him and standout U of A centre half Osmo Bimba. For most of the match, Bimba was the best player on te pitch, man-marking Dosanjh and blocking chance after chance. In fact, before the end of regulation, Bimba made a saving block on Dosanjh when it looked like the UBC goal-poacher had an open net in which to deposit the ball. “They had been blocking shots all day,” said Dosanjh. “I have been getting used to being man marked, but when the ball came to me I just tried to get it off as hard and as quickly as I could.” And, the game would not have made it to extra time had it not been for UBC keeper Luke O’Shea. In the 89th minute, he dove to make a spectacular stop on a goal bound effort from Golden Bear Zenon Markevych. Snow and cold temperatures played havoc with the Canada West final-six tournament in Edmonton. Thursday’s opening round was snowed out, and the tournament was played on the smaller artificial-surface pitch rather than the snow-laden grass pitch usually used for University of Alberta home games. The game began in temperatures just above the freezing mark, with large banks of snow visible just metres from the sidelines. And, throughout the first half, the teams struggled to deal with the Foote Field artificial surface, which is tough to play on in the best of conditions. In the cold, it got very slick and was as hard as concrete, meaning it was tough to control bouncing balls or weight passes. “The (football) lines were very hard,” said Dosanjh. “You had to really watch where you were going. But it was better than Saturday (the semifinal day). Saturday was colder.” But, knowing that the winner of the Prairie Conference would host the Canada West playdowns, Dosanjh said the T-Birds were planning pretty well all season to have to come to Edmonton for the finals. In that chippy and choppy first half, each team produced just one scoring chance apiece. A free kick from Alberta’s Mohamed Teliani struck the top of the bar. But UBC capitalized on its chance, with Milad Mehrabi giving the visitors the early lead. But the Bears came out strong right after the second-half kickoff. And less than two minutes, the home team equalized, as Jermele Campbell converted a wonderful through ball from Markevych. Mehrabi had a chance for goal No. 2, but a speculative shot hit the outside of the post. Alberta had the last good chance of regulation, but Markevych has his effort from the top of the box saved. Alberta coach Len Vickery brought in his two offensive top guns, Cameron Schmidt and Marcus Johnstone into the game in the 72nd minute. Neither were able to create a chance. But it was an interesting lineup chosen by Vickery; Alberta needed extra time to beat Trinity Western 3-1 in the semifinal. Johnstone and Schmidt each scored in that match. And, since each of the finalists goes to nationals, the semifinal was arguably a bigger match for Alberta than the semi. So, Johnstone and Schmidt didn’t see the field at the start of the game. And fullback Eddy Sidra — who has been capped by the Canadian national team — wasn’t even on the subs’ bench. Watch The 11 Monday for recaps of the rest of the conference finals!