Minnedosa midfielder Lamb signs with Bobcats

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This article was published 20/01/2022 (1521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Victor Lamb knows what the Brandon University Bobcats went through to get where they are today.

The Minnedosa product climbed his own ladder to the top of the province and is excited to hopefully stay there, as the BU men’s soccer team’s first recruit for its class of 2022.

He won’t take for granted the fact that he’s joining a powerhouse program. As the Bobcats captured their first of two straight Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference titles in 2019, he helped his Minnedosa Chancellors to a surprise rural provincial crown on home turf.

He was in Grade 10, a few years removed from an appearance at the 2016 Manitoba Games with Team Westman. The Chancellors had a shaky start to the season, losing in the first round of Garden Valley’s tournament and going 1-2 in their home event. Minnedosa won four zone matches against Neepawa and MacGregor but dropped the zone final to the Mustangs.

Lamb’s team hosted provincials as the No. 7 seed out of nine and shocked everyone. Minnedosa beat Niverville 2-1, avenged an earlier loss to Swan Valley with a 5-0 thrashing, then edged Morden 1-0 in a hard-fought gold-medal match.

“It was really great. We weren’t really expecting to win at all either but lots of close games, we pulled it off,” Lamb said. “We had to get the whole team on board wanting to win, that’s for sure.”

The same was the case at BU, though it took a few years from the team’s MCAC debut in 2014 to its first final appearance in 2018.

The team changed hands from Jesse Roziere to Glen McNabb in 2020 and the new coach helped defend the title at home last fall.

McNabb has scrimmaged with Lamb in Minnedosa and observed him at BU ID camps and some spring sessions in 2021.

Looking up and down his roster, McNabb compares Lamb to Sam Wetstein, who didn’t play much in 2019 but came up with a massive moment, scoring the game-winner in a 3-2 final victory over Providence.

The Cartwright native came up clutch again, burying a rebound to send Brandon past St. Boniface 2-1 in the 2021 semifinals.

“(Lamb) may not take a starting role his first year but … I think he’ll develop into a well-rounded player. He’s got a good fitness level and his technical is half decent but he’ll need some more coaching,” McNabb said. “He’s just a great kid. He’s an all-around good student, a good athlete. He likes to learn, he’s got a good attitude, he’s positive, always upbeat and outgoing.

“He’ll fit nicely into the dynamics of the group we have.”

Lamb has a family connection to the Bobcats as his mother, Laura Jackson, played basketball in the 2001-02 season.

Lamb played a few seasons with Westman FC and feels confident his game will translate to the college level. He played defence a lot growing up but has transitioned to an outside midfield role.

He kept playing as much as possible, even as high school sports were cancelled due to COVID-19, and has a chance to play a full five years as he’s entering physical education studies.

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