Montreal Advance to Semifinals After 2–1 Win Over UBC

TORONTO, November 6 — The Montreal Carabins are through to the semifinals of the 2025 U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship following a hard-fought 2–1 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in Thursday’s second quarterfinal at Varsity Stadium. In a tightly contested opening half, the RSEQ champions struck first in the 19th minute when Maxime Filion converted a setup from Zacharie Belamri to give Montreal an early lead. The advantage, however, was short-lived. Just over a minute later, UBC’s Theo Afework responded with a composed finish to bring the game level at 1–1 — a scoreline that would hold until halftime. The Thunderbirds grew into the match after the break, maintaining long spells of possession and testing Montreal goalkeeper Joakim Milli, who produced several key saves to keep his team in contention. Despite being outshot 17–12, the Carabins remained organized defensively and patient in attack. Montreal’s persistence paid off in the 74th minute when substitute Orene Cohen made an immediate impact, scoring his first goal of the season to restore the Carabins’ lead at 2–1. From there, Montreal held firm, repelling UBC’s late push to secure a spot in the national semifinal. Next Round With the victory, the Carabins advance to face the York Lions in Friday’s semifinal — a matchup between two of the top-ranked sides in the country. The Thunderbirds will meet the Dalhousie Tigers in the consolation round at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.