Monday, August 12, 2013

JERUSALEM, Israel -  Team Canada, led by Simon Fraser University head coach Alan Koch and aided by Clan forward Colin Jacques (Richmond, BC) won a bronze medal at the 2013 Maccabi Games.

The Maccabiah is the world's largest Jewish athletic competition which takes place every four years in Israel - "the Jewish Olympics" as they are often called, are Maccabi World Union's largest and most famous enterprise.

Canada opened the tournament with a 3-0 win over Chile on July 19 ahead of the Games' opening ceremonies.

They continued their strong play in the second game of the round robin with a 4-1 win over Venezuela.

With a trip to the quarter finals already secured, Koch, Jacques and Team Canada went up against the defending champions from Argentina, looking to win their pool.

Argentina was too much for Canada though, as the Canadians suffered their first loss of the tournament, 4-1 to Argentina.

Things didn't get any easier in the quarter-finals for Canada, as the red and white drew Brazil in the quarter-final.

Team Canada scored a thrilling victory in the match, defeating Brazil 1-0 to move on to the semi-final match against the United States.

A loss to the Americans in the semi-final sent Canada to the bronze medal match against another tough opponent from Mexico.

With a chance to win Canada's first medal in Maccabi Games history in soccer, Canada defeated Mexico 4-1 to finish the tournament on a winning note and with a winning record at 4-2, capturing the bronze.