By Corey LeBlanc
Sydney, N.S. – On the strength of a goal from first-team all-star striker Luke Rosettani (Kanata, ON), the UNB Reds (#3) edged the Dalhousie Tigers (#6) 1-0 – in overtime – in the first quarter-final match of the 2022 Subway Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Men's Soccer Championship Wednesday afternoon at Ness Timmons Field on the Cape Breton University (CBU) campus.
Rosettani – in the 103rd minute – got behind the Tiger defense, before taking a long pass from UNB captain Olivier Menard (Ottawa, ON) and tucking a shot inside the right goal post behind Dalhousie second-team all-star goalkeeper Aiden Rushenas (Toronto, ON).
"It was crazy today," the game-winning goal scorer said after the match, regarding the windy conditions on the pitch.
Rosettani explained he recognized that a Tiger defender had subbed in moments before the play, so he thought he could take advantage of him being cold.
"It worked out and we were able to get the goal," he said.
Playing against the wind in the second 15-minute OT session, veteran goalkeeper Louis Charles Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, QC) helped preserve the victory with a sensational diving stop on the short side.
"We thought he should have been an all-star," Rosettani said, in praising the stellar effort of his teammate.
After 90 minutes, the sides were deadlocked 0-0; both teams came up empty with their advantage of playing with the wind for one half.
Playing with the wind in the first half, Rushenas made the first big stop of the contest – in the opening five minutes – when he turned aside a scoring chance from second-team all-star midfielder Lars Gierull (Ottawa, ON).
Jared Ndopedro (Campbellton, NB) garnered the first quality opportunity for the Tigers, in the 12th minute, but UNB Vaillancourt charged out to smother the shot, which trickled harmlessly by the left post.
In a halftime interview, Dalhousie head coach Alan Jazic bemoaned his team not capitalizing on their scoring chances while playing with the wind.
In the first half, the Tigers came up empty on eight corner-kick opportunities.
The sides were scoreless at halftime.
Rosettani and Suliman Elomrani (Halifax, NS) of the Tigers were named the Subway players of the match.
Vaillancourt made five saves for the shutout win, while Rushenas turned aside seven shots.
With the victory, the Reds advance to the semi-final round, where they will kick off versus the STFX X-Men (#2) on Thursday, Nov. 3, at 3 p.m. ADT.
"We need to keep our heads – we have something to prove," Rosettani offered, noting their regular season-ending loss to the X-Men in Antigonish.
The winner of that match will play for an AUS banner on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m. ADT.
All championship tournament matches are available via webcast live at www.AUStv.ca.