U Sports MVP Tolnai's late goal lifts UBC women's soccer team over Trinity Western for gold

The University of British Columbia (UBC) defeated its Canada West (CW) rival Trinity Western 1-0 in extra time to claim gold at the 2023 U Sports Women's Soccer Championship on Saturday in Kingston, Ont.

In a matchup between the two winningest teams in the history of U Sports women's soccer, with UBC now holding an 8-5 edge in national titles, the championship game didn't disappoint, as U Sports MVP Katalin Tolnai's 120th-minute goal delivered UBC its first gold medal since 2019.

Toronto's Tolnai recorded 22 points in 14 regular season contests - seven more points than any other player in the CW - and also scored the game-winning goal in the Thunderbirds' quarterfinal win over Ottawa on Thursday, earning Championship MVP for her contributions.

"[Winning a second national title] feels so good just for... the whole team," said Tolnai, who was part of the Thunderbirds squad that topped the Calgary Dinos in the 2019 gold-medal game, to 49 Sports. "We all just really wanted this, and are so happy."

WATCH | Tolnai leads Thunderbirds to gold:

Only nine days removed from the Spartans defeating the Thunderbirds 6-5 on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless draw in the CW final, the national championship game shaped up to be much of the same, with no goals scored through the first 119 minutes of play.

The low-scoring result came as no surprise with UBC allowing just 0.36 goals per game in the regular season to Trinity Western's 0.57 — the two lowest marks in the CW.

The best chances in regulation both came off the foot of UBC players, with Nisa Reehal and Sophie Damian sneaking shots past Spartans goalkeeper Hannah Miller in the second half, only to be stymied by the post each time.

WATCH | Full replay of women's