Photo credit Martin Bazyl
TORONTO (CIS) – The second-seeded University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds scored two goals in the final four minutes of the second quarter-final of the 2015 CIS men's soccer championship to defeat the seventh-seeded Victoria Vikes at York Stadium in Toronto on Thursday afternoon.
Thanks to the win, the Varsity Reds advance to Saturday's semifinal and will face the UQAM Citadins, who were victorious earlier in the day, in a match set to begin at 11 a.m. The Vikes have been relegated to the consolation side of the draw and will take on the McMaster Marauders in the first consolation semifinal on Friday at 11 a.m.
Recovering twice from one-goal deficits in both the first and second halves, the Varsity Reds edged out a desperate win thanks to critical goals from game MVP Ben Gorringe of Truro, N.S., in the 86th minute and Kenneth Van Aarle of St. Andrews, N.B., in the 89th.
"I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life," said Gorringe. "I had faith in our guys the whole time. We had many chances throughout the second half and I knew the goal would come."
Varsity Reds Coach Miles Pinsent also had faith in his team.
"We went into this game with four years of CIS experience. We structured our practices around high-pressured drills so we were definitely prepared."
The goals were scored just three minutes apart at the end of regular time. Gorringe was first to pounce with an equalizing goal in the 86th minute. Then shortly after Van Aarle finalized the emotional 3-2 win with a placed goal from 30 yards out in the 89th.
In response to the loss, CIS player of the year Cam Hundal of Terrace, B.C., reflected on what happened in the final minutes of the game.
"I thought we played well overall, but the last two goals were mistakes on our part. It's unfortunate that mistakes in big tournaments can make all the difference, but it's the reality of the sport."
Although the windy conditions were a factor in the first half, the Varsity Reds were able to adjust and found their groove with steady possessive play in the opening minutes. Marcus Lees of Barrie, Ont., was a threat down the left wing, but with no one on the receiving end of his crosses, the game remained scoreless.
However in the 17th minute the Vikes were able to pounce in transition off of a counter-attack opportunity to gain an early 1-0 lead. Thrusting forward with relentless pace down the left wing and beating two defenders off the dribble, Hundal finished his run with a dangerous ball into the box that found the foot goal scorer Michael Baart of Victoria.
The rest of the half continued on with both teams showing promise to add another goal to the scoreboard. Varsity Reds Jose Lopez of Calgary came close to levelling the score in the 39th minute with a dipping free kick that froze the keeper but rang the post.
Just before the half, it was British boys Robert Park of Glasgow and Oliver Jones of London who teamed up to seal the equalizer for the Varsity Reds. Executing off of Jones' cross into the box, Park got his boot to the ball to tie up the score 1-1.
It was an eventful second half as weather conditions settled and both teams fought to edge out a lead. Vikes Tarnvir Bhandal of Victoria came close midway through the half, forcing a save from the keeper just outside of the box. Then Lopez hit the post for the second time off of another free kick opportunity.
It was Victoria's Craig Gorman who gave the team a 2-1 lead from a layoff that he tucked into the left post in the 69th minute, and it looks as though that would stand up as the winner until UNB's heroics in the final minutes.
In addition to Gorridge, Gorman was named the player of the game for the Vikes.
SCORING SUMMARY:
UNB 1-2: 3
VIC: 1-1: 2
First Half
1. VIC Michael Baart (1), 17th minute
2. UNB Robert Park (1), 45th
Second Half
3. VIC Craig Gorman (1), 69th
4. UNB Ben Gorringe (1), 86th
5. UNB Kenneth Van Aarle (1), 89th
Goalkeepers:
UNB: Brandon Eagle (W, 2 GA, 7 saves, 90:00, 1-0)
VIC: Noah Pawlowski (L, 3 GA, 5 saves, 90:00, 0-1)
Team Stats
Shots: UNB 13, VIC 12
Shots on net: UNB 4, VIC 7
Corners: UNB 4, VIC 0
Offsides: UNB 1, VIC 0
Fouls: UNB 3, VIC 16
Yellow cards: VIC (Michael Baart)
Red cards: None
Players of the game:
UNB: Ben Gorringe
VIC: Craig Gorman
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Thursday, Nov. 12
11:00 Quarter-final 1: UQAM 2, McMaster 1 (4-3 kicks)
13:30 Quarter-final 2: UNB 3, Victoria 2
16:00 Quarter-final 3: UBC 3, Toronto 0
19:00 Quarter-final 4: York 4, Cape Breton 1
Friday, Nov. 13
11:00 Consolation 1: McMaster 2, Victoria 1
13:30 Consolation 2: Cape Breton 3, Toronto, 0
Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 Semifinal 1: UQAM vs. UNB (CIS-SIC.tv)
13:30 Semifinal 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (CIS-SIC.tv)
16:00 5th-place game (CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, Nov. 15
11:00 Bronze medal (CIS-SIC.tv)
14:00 Championship final (CIS-SIC.tv)