CALGARY – The University of Alberta Golden Bears fought from two goals down to claim a 3-2 win against the University of Calgary Dinos in the Canada West semifinal on Sunday at McMahon Stadium. 

Goals from Frankroy Cain in the 89th minute and a stoppage time winner from Justin George ensured the Golden Bears advance to both the Canada West Final and the 2026 U SPORTS Championship in Victoria. 

Calgary struck twice in the first half. Defender Jacob Hunter finished off a slick move from the Dinos, tapping home from close range from William Omoreniye's dangerous ball into the box.

And after some more good play in the build-up, Efe Udolu-Joshua doubled the lead by finishing off Josral Fredereick's delivery into the area.

Alberta pushed back after the break. Dinos goalkeeper Hany Shafie was forced to make smart saves on shots from Giorgio Artunduaga and George. However,  George cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 67th minute, chipping the ball over the keeper after being found by a trivela pass from Frankroy Cain. 

Cain tied it 2-2 with less than a minute left in regulation, playing a neat one-two with Anson Minty before striking the ball beyond the keeper. Deep into stoppage time, George was on hand to tap home for his second of the game to put his side ahead.

The Dinos made a final push to find an equalizer, with Udolu-Joshua having one more shot saved by Alberta goalkeeper Lucas Robson before the final whistle. The Golden Bears outshot the Dinos 8-4 in the second half, and George led all players with six shots, three of them on target.

"You just have to not give up," said George. "We were down 2-0 at halftime and some would say it's impossible, but you have to keep your heads high, encourage your teammates and keep going. You can't hang your head low with 45 minutes of soccer left to play."

"I believed from minute zero. I'm confident in our team, I love these guys, and we know what we can produce. Even going down 2-0 so early, I didn't stop believing."