An 84^th-minute goal by Jon Alec Duenas was all the York University Lions men's soccer team needed to record a 1-0 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in the fifth-place match at the 2019 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships in Montreal.
 
Duenas' goal came at the end of a pretty passing play that began with Merci Yuma. He passed the ball to his right to Gianfranco Gileppo, who then sent it towards the front of the net. The ball just missed the foot of Milan Beader right in front of the goalkeeper, but Duenas was coming up the far side and easily tapped it in for the lone goal of the game.
 
The tally punctuated an otherwise mostly uneventful game between two squads who came into the tournament with medal aspirations but were defeated on the opening day to fall to the consolation side of the draw. The Lions reached the fifth-place game with a 3-2 win over the Calgary Dinos on Friday, while the Thunderbirds knocked out the StFX X-Men.
 
There was little action in the first half as neither team generated much offensively. As he did all tournament, York goalkeeper Mike Argyrides made one big save from in close to preserve the scoreless tie in the opening half. After five halves of tremendous play in net, he was subbed out at halftime in favour of George Tzimas.
 
The Lions had a great scoring chance just minutes into the second half but Yuma's cross into the front of the net just missed the foot of Gileppo and the ball stayed out.
 
Minutes before the final whistle, Duenas preserved the lead he had given his team by sliding to block a shot. Soon after, Tzimas made a game-saving stop when he pushed a hard, point-blank shot over the top of the net in injury time.
 
Duenas earned player of the match honours for the Lions, while Manraj Bains earned the honour for the Thunderbirds.
 
The Lions finished fifth for the second time in three years and improved upon their sixth-place finish from last year, while the Thunderbirds moved up one place from their seventh-place showing in 2018.