Three years ago, Travis Buick was out of school, working as a diamond driller. Recently, he became a college soccer champion, recognized as one of Manitoba’s top players.
The Flin Flon-born defender played a key role in his Brandon University Bobcats team taking home top spot in the recent Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) championship. Winning the title on the home pitch of rivals Providence University College in Otterburne, Buick and his teammates brought home the first provincial title in the school’s history.
A defender by trade, Buick made a name for himself in the final tournament for one of his most valuable skills - taking headers. At 6-foot-2, Buick is one of his team’s tallest players and can get above opponents following corners.
“Every time there’s a corner kick, they need some big guys in there who can jump. As soon as there’s a corner, the coach looked to me and said, ‘Get your head on it,’” he said.
Buick’s Bobcats entered the season-ending final four tournament as the first seed, facing Les Rouges from l’Université de Saint-Boniface. The Bobcats ended the game with a 2-0 win. Buick scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, using a header.
In the tournament final, with the conference title on the line, the Bobcats faced off against the Providence Pilots.
Buick got his team on the board first, scoring - you guessed it - a header off a corner kick only eight minutes into the game.
“That’s what I did this weekend. I got my head on it twice,” he said.
“Everyone was a little frustrated and confused because it was really quick. We crossed it in and I had a huge opening and lots of space. There were two guys in front and they jumped up and couldn’t reach it. I knew it was going for my head. I just buried it after that.”
Providence tied the game soon after, but Brandon striker Kevin Lopez made no mistake on a shot in first half stoppage time to restore a Bobcats lead. Samuel Wetstein added another goalie with minutes remaining to make BU history, providing the program with its first-ever MCAC title.
“In the final minutes of the game, knowing that you’re going to get that win… it’s so hard to explain the feeling. All the guys on the team put in the work all season. Everyone’s trying so hard just for that,” Buick said.
“Considering it was our first title, that made it even more exciting.”
For his efforts in the final, Buick was named the MCAC’s most valuable player in the final four tournament. Later, he would be named the conference’s Male Athlete of the Week.
“It feels pretty good. Putting in the work all season, grinding it out, improving my cardio and getting that - it feels good.”
Most university or college athletes go right into their sport of choice immediately after high school. Buick’s story wasn’t that simple. After graduating from Hapnot Collegiate, where he was a standout for the Kings’ soccer team, Buick worked a few steady day jobs, including with Major Drilling on a diamond drill rig and as a carpenter with a local contractor.
After two years of blue-collar work, Buick switched his focus and applied to Brandon University to enrol in the school’s pre-nursing program. Once he got in, Buick had hopes of joining the school’s soccer team.
Those hopes were dashed when he suffered an ankle injury severe enough to sideline him for the whole season. Buick still went to class and studied hard, but was unable to hit the pitch.
“I wasn’t even on the team. I told them, ‘Take someone else.’ It was my first year and I was still getting into the swing of things - with school and soccer and my ankle, I wouldn’t get to play. I decided to focus on school and get better for next year,” he said.
Last year, having recovered, Buick suited up for the first time in collegiate soccer. Buick scored one goal throughout a 10 game season with the Bobcats this year.
“We were off to a rough start. Last year, we had this team where everyone was so good and they’d played together before. The chemistry was very high. This year, we weren’t really clicking. It took us a couple of games to get into it, but once we got to it, that’s when we knew we had a team that could win the championship.”
While Buick is now a third-year student at the school, he’s only counted by MCAC as a sophomore as a result of his injury absence. He’s still eligible to play next season, but will be entering his fourth and final year of his degree. Buick has high hopes that his team can repeat next season.
“I have no doubt in my mind that we will [win again],” he said.
“After this year, I feel like we have some guys who have a lot of potential.”
