By Nick Murray, Communications Liaison 2014 CIS championship / Photo credit Mike Needham, UPEI Photography
CHARLOTTETOWN (CIS) – Defender Maxime Leconte was the hero for the UQAM Citadins in the second quarter-final of the CIS men’s soccer championship as his shot from the half-way line with 15 minutes lifted the RSEQ conference champions to a 2-1 win over the Alberta Golden Bears at UPEI Turf, Thursday afternoon.
It was an incredible finish for Leconte, whose strike over despairing keeper Connor James capped a performance which saw him deservedly take the player-of-the-game honour for his team and set up a semi-final against McMaster Marauders, Friday at 4 p.m. AST.
It will mark the first national semifinal appearance in team history for the Citadins, who claimed CIS bronze in 1998 but had advanced directly to the third-place match out of pool play. The tournament was a six-team competition at the time.
It was the Golden Bears who took an early lead when the impressive Niko Saler put in a cross with Mohamed Teliani was able to meet with an excellent far post header. Saler was impressive throughout the game and his left foot crosses caused numerous problems.
UQAM equalized in the 12th minute when RSEQ player of the year Armel Dagrou was able to steer home from close range after a defensive mix-up.
UQAM caused most of the problems in the second half but James was resolute and extra time seemed a possibility before Leconte’s moment of brilliance. Seeing James slightly off his line, his firm shot gave the goalkeeper no chance.
Despite some late pressure the Canada West finalists could not respond and in the end it was a deserving win for the first-time Quebec champions.
Alberta moves to the consolation side of the draw and will battle UNB Friday at 11 a.m. AST.
SCORING SUMMARY:
UQAM 1-1: 2
ALB 1-0: 1
First Half
1. ALB Mohamed Teliani (1), 6th
2. UQAM Armel Dagrou (1), 12th
Second Half
UQAM Maxime Leconte (1), 75th
Goalkeepers:
UQAM Nizar Houhou (W, 1 GA, 1 save, 90:00,1-0)
ALB Connor James (L, 2 GA, 6 saves, 90:00, 0-1)
Shots: UQAM 12, ALB 8
Shots on Net: UQAM 6, ALB 1
Corners: UQAM 5, ALB 8
Offsides: UQAM 0, ALB 1
Fouls: UQAM 11, ALB 13
Yellow Cards: UQAM (Edouard Tessier-Blais, Wilfred Girard); ALB
(Jermele Campbell)
Red Cards: None
Players of the game:
UQAM: Maxime Leconte
ALB: Mohamed Teliani
SCHEDULE & RESULTS (ATLANTIC TIME)
Thursday, Nov. 6
11:00 Quarter-final 1: McMaster 2, UNB 1 (3-2 PK)
13:30 Quarter-final 2: UQAM 2, Alberta 1
16:00 Quarter-final 3: Montreal vs. York (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
19:00 Quarter-final 4: UPEI vs. Saskatchewan (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Friday, Nov. 7
11:00 Consolation 1: UNB vs. Alberta (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
16:00 Semifinal 1: McMaster vs. UQAM (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Saturday, Nov. 8
11:00 5th-place game (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 9
10:00 Bronze medal (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
13:00 Championship final (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 11,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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