By University of Toronto sports information /
Photo credit Toronto Athletics
TORONTO (CIS) - Rookie striker Elvir Gigolaj scored in the 86th
minute to lead the AUS champion Saint Mary’s Huskies to a 1-0
victory over the Alberta Golden Bears in the second quarter-final
of the 2010 CIS men’s soccer championship at Varsity Centre,
Thursday afternoon.
The Huskies, who are in search of their first national title in
school history, advance to the first championship semifinal on
Saturday at 11 a.m. They will meet the York Lions, who upset
the defending champion Laval Rouge et Or in the first quarter-final
of the day.
Alberta moves to the consolation side of the draw and will face
Laval on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
After an exciting contest in which both teams produced quality
scoring chances, Gigolaj of London, Ont., was finally able to break
the scoreless draw by skilfully lobbing the ball over Golden Bears
keeper and Edmonton native Jaswinder Gill from the top of the
penalty box.
“This is the happiest moment of my life right now,”
said an elated Gigolaj after the match. “I saw the ball go
over the defenders head and just had to maintain cool and finish
and then the rush of excitement went through me.”
The first half was a physical affair, as both sides looked to
assert themselves on the pitch. The Golden Bears committed
eight fouls in the opening period, while Saint Mary’s was
called for four.
The Huskies, who are four-time finalists in their 12 appearances at
the national tournament, found some momentum later in the half, as
Jhonattan Corboda used his speed to make a strong run down the
right side. The Halifax native spun away from the Alberta
defender and sent a high shot that soared just over the cross
bar.
Corboda continued to find speed down the sideline, forcing Zenon
Markevych (Edmonton, Alta.) to take him down with an elbow.
Markevych was quickly booked by the referee, who went on to issue
two more yellow cards in the half.
Alberta continued to defend against the Saint Mary’s attack,
which became more dangerous as the half-time whistle
approached. Just before the break, Bermuda, N.S., native Ian
Coke zipped past the defence and sent the ball across to third-year
midfielder David Inglis, who put the ball within inches of the
right post.
Alberta finally created some offence in the opening minutes of the
second half, as fourth-year striker and Calgary native Brett Colvin
sent a free kick inches over the net. That seemed to wake up
Saint Mary’s, as Gigolaj nearly put them up with a hard
shot. Fortunately for Alberta, Gill made a difficult save to
keep the game tied.
Although Saint Mary’s held the momentum, Alberta did create a
couple of chances to keep the Huskies honest. A header
by Ignacy Broda in the 75th minute sailed wide, and Edmonton native
Samuel Lam produced the best chance for his team moments
later. Huskies keeper Adam Miller made an excellent diving
save to prevent Lam’s shot from finding the right corner of
the goal.
Although Alberta pressed for the equalizer over the final moments,
they would run out of clock as the referee blew the final
whistle.
“This is a big win for us,” said Huskies head coach
Stewart Galloway. “We beat a good team and that’s
what we’re here for. We have a young group of players but
they played very well.”
SCORING
SUMMARY
SMU: 0-1:1
ALB: 0-0:0
First Half
(no scoring)
Second Half
3. SMU Elvir Gigolaj (1), 86th
Goalkeepers:
SMU: Adam Miller (W, 0 GA, 4 saves, 90:00 mins)
ALB: Jaswinder Gill (L, 1 GA, 3 saves, 90:00 mins)
Shots: SMU 13, ALB 5
Shots on Net: SMU 4, ALB 4
Corners: SMU 6, ALB 3
Offsides: SMU 1, ALB 0
Fouls: SMU 14, ALB 11
Yellow Cards: SMU (Shawn Kodejs, Elvir Gigolaj), ALB (Zenon
Markevych, Marcus Johnstone)
Red Cards: none
Players of the game:
SMU: Elvir Gigolaj
ALB: Samuel Lam
SCHEDULE &
RESULTS
Thursday, Nov. 11
11:00 Quarterfinal 1: York 3, Laval 2 (4-2 PK)
13:30 Quarterfinal 2: Saint Mary’s 1, Alberta 0
16:00 Quarterfinal 3: UBC vs. Western (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Quarterfinal 4: Toronto vs. UQAM (SSN Canada webcast)
Friday, Nov. 12
13:30 Consolation 1: Laval vs. Alberta (SSN Canada webcast)
16:00 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (SSN Canada
webcast)
Saturday, Nov. 13
11:00 Semi-final 1: York vs. Saint Mary’s (SSN Canada
webcast)
14:00 Semi-final 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (SSN Canada
webcast)
16:30 Consolation final (SSN Canada webcast)
Sunday, Nov. 14
13:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
16:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
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