Bobcats defender Lamb reflects on nationals run

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This article was published 21/11/2023 (721 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two years ago, not a soul in the national collegiate soccer scene knew who Victor Lamb was.

Last week, the Brandon University Bobcats defender was named a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national tournament all-star.

The Minnedosa native’s rise to notoriety is as steep as the learning curve he followed from receiving minimal playing time in his rookie year to playing almost every minute as a sophomore.

“It’s pretty crazy, definitely the team helped me out,” Lamb said on Tuesday as BU recognized its men’s and women’s teams after their trips to nationals.

“Wouldn’t be able to do it without the team, putting in all my hard work, going to morning workouts, wanting to be a better athlete, better soccer player and better person.”

Lamb unexpectedly shouldered a major responsibility in his team’s biggest games of the season. When starting centre-back Victor Andrade left the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference semifinal with a leg injury, Lamb shifted from fullback to the heart of Brandon’s defensive unit.

The Bobcats didn’t miss a beat, winning their semifinal 2-1 with the only goal allowed being a penalty kick. Brandon earned a 1-0 victory in the final to return to nationals for the second time in three years.

Lamb said his centre-back partner Nathan Chubaty made it a whole lot easier to change jobs on the fly.

“I felt calm but definitely Chubs helped me out with that. I told him to talk to me and he talked to me lots,” Lamb said. “The team trusted me there, I trusted myself.”

BU’s chance at an unlikely national crown evaporated when Vancouver’s Douglas College Royals delivered a 6-0 beatdown in the quarterfinals en route to its gold medal.

The Bobcats bounced back, falling 2-0 to Keyano College before defeating the University of King’s College 3-2 in penalty kicks.

The Bobcats did it without two starters, Andrade and Matheus Ruffini, who were dismissed from the MCAC semifinal and handed six- and seven-game suspensions for comments toward the referee. The three games at nationals count, but they will both miss a couple of games to open the 2024 outdoor season.

“First Manitoba team to get a win at nationals, pretty special,” Lamb said. “That was our goal at the start of the year to not only get to nationals, but win a game. Now the goal gets bigger from there.”

Lamb was recognized as BU’s October male athlete of the month, along with Tarin Ballan of the women’s soccer team. Ballan also moved to centre-back late in the season and was named playoff MVP.

The Bobcats lost all three of their games at nationals in Summerside, P.E.I.

Up next for the BU and Assiniboine Community College Cougars is the 2024 MCAC futsal season, which kicks off on Jan. 14.

OJEDA-HARVEY EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Khari Ojeda-Harvey has earned Brandon’s first Canada West player of the week nod of the season.

The fourth-year guard from New York dropped 23 points in a 90-87 win over Calgary (2-4) on Friday, then lit the Dinos up with 28 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 100-95 decision to improve to 5-1 and sit second in the 17-team league.

Ojeda-Harvey is averaging 21 points per game, good for sixth in Canada West. Victoria’s Diego Maffia leads with a gaudy 32.3 ppg.

The Bobcats host the Trinity Western Spartans (1-3) this Friday and Saturday, then visit the 4-0 Regina Cougars to close the semester the following weekend.

Meanwhile, the BU volleyball teams head to Winnipeg on Friday for a doubleheader against the Wesmen.

They return to the Healthy Living Centre to cap the semester against the Fraser Valley Cascades.

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