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Cinderella Marauders win OUA men's soccer championship
TORONTO - The McMaster Marauders upset the No. 1
nationally-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues 5-4 in sudden death penalty
kicks to earn a 1-0 victory and the Ontario University Athletics
(OUA) men's soccer championship on Sunday at Varsity Centre.
Toronto's seventh shooter, Darragh McGee (Donegal,
Ireland), sent his shot high over the crossbar, ending the
three-hour match and giving McMaster its first OUA title since
1992.
Third-year midfielder Anthony Costa (Stoney Creek,
Ont.) had four shots and was named the Marauders player of the
game, while goalkeeper John Smits earned player of
the game honours for the Blues with nine saves on the day.
The Marauders finished the regular season with a 6-7-1 record and
needed penalty kicks in all four post-season games to win the
championship. They defeated the Carleton Ravens 3-1 in penalty
kicks to take the OUA semifinal 1-0.
Toronto defeated the Western Mustangs 5-4 in penalty kicks to win
the other semifinal 3-2. Both the Varsity Blues and Marauders
advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men's soccer
championship at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. from
Nov. 12-15.
Both teams came out ready to go and eager to play. Monkgogi
Moseki (Hamilton, Ont.) set the tone as he put Smits
(Mississauga, Ont.) to work early, recording the first shot of the
game in the third minute.
Similarly, Toronto midfielder Geoffrey Borgmann
(Dixie, Ont.) kept Grant on his toes, as he sent a hard shot toward
the bottom right corner of the net that was denied in the seventh
minute.
The Marauders continued to press but Blues defenders Yannis
Gianniotis (Toronto) and McGree stood tall as the game
remained tied 0-0 at the half.
McMaster held the play for the first 15 minutes of the second half
and it wasn't until third-year Blues midfielder Scott
Nesbitt (Scarborough, Ont.) sent a booming shot just over
the top of the net that got Toronto back in the game.
Chinomnso Nwamadi (Brampton, Ont.) nearly got the
Marauders on the board as his shot hit the cross bar in the 69th
minute. McMaster continued to pressure in Toronto's end but Smits
was there every step of the way, keeping the game scoreless.
For the fourth time in as many games at the OUA men's soccer
championship, the game would go into overtime and be decided by
penalty kicks.
After the first five penalty kicks, both teams had scored three
times. McMaster's Reilly knocked in the first sudden-death shot
with Toronto's Borgmann countering. Kyle
Grootenboer (Brantford, Ont.) would also score for the
Marauders, forcing Toronto's hand. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant
to be for McGee, who sent his shot high and wide left.
Earlier in the day, the Western Mustangs defeated the Carleton
Ravens 1-0 to claim the OUA bronze medal. Mustangs goalkeeper
Andrew Murdoch (Burlington, Ont.) came up with a
big save on Carleton's Halid Sefic (Burlington,
Ont.) to secure the 3-2 shootout victory.
Western came out strong, maintaining possession for the first 10
minutes of the contest. First-year Ravens striker Jonni
Okai (Ottawa) began to rally his squad with solid pressure
on the Mustangs defence.
Carleton's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the
35th minute when Sam McHugh (Russell, Ont.) sent a
hard shot that tipped off Murdoch's fingers and hit the cross
bar.
The game remained 0-0 at the half.
Both teams picked up their pace in the second half and second-year
Western defender Ian Meagher (Mississauga, Ont.)
sent a hard shot on goal that knocked the wind out of Ravens
goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa).
Ravens striker Caki Simrooglu (Izmir, Turkey)
headed a pass from Okai in the 75th minute that sailed just over
the Western net.
Western and Carleton continued to exchange scoring opportunities in
the remaining 15 minutes of regulation, however, neither team would
find the back of the net as the game was forced into overtime.
After another scoreless 30 minutes the bronze-medal match headed
into penalty kicks. Daniel Frankel (Toronto),
Vince Caminiti (London, Ont.) and Michael
Marcoccia (London, Ont.) scored for the Mustangs and
Murdoch came up with a big save on Sefic to secure the 3-2 shootout
victory and the OUA bronze medal.
OUA FINAL FOUR MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
November 7, 2009
Semifinals @ Toronto
McMaster 1, Carleton 0 PK
Toronto 3, Western 2 PK
November 8, 2009
Finals @ Toronto
Bronze Medal
Western 1, Carleton 0 PK
OUA Final
McMaster 1, Toronto 0 PK
- OUA -
