Huskies late comeback earns single point against Sea-Hawks

HALIFAX, NS – The Saint Mary's Huskies scored two goals in the final eight minutes of regulation to erase a 2-0 deficit and earn a single point with a 2-2 draw against the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Saturday in Halifax.

Saturday's match marked the final game of the regular season, a make-up from the originally scheduled Sept. 25 game that was postponed due to Hurricane Fiona.

The Sea-Hawks had an early scoring chance in the third minute as forward Jacob Grant (St. John's, NL) played an excellent pass to Cabhan O'Keefe (Lawn, NL), but Huskies goalkeeper Jensen Brown (Enfield, NS), made a sliding stop to keep it scoreless.

In the 32^nd minute, Huskies defender Orion Wiersma was whistled for a hand ball just outside the box and given a yellow card. On the ensuing free kick, Jacob Grant made no mistake, curling a ball past Brown into the near post top corner to give the Sea-Hawks a 1-0 lead.

The Sea-Hawks had six shots on goal, compared to just two for the Huskies in the first half.

Memorial would double their lead in the 67^th minute, as Grant delivered a cross to forward Gabriel Araujo Lage (Belo Horizonte, Brazil), who volleyed it past Brown to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

The Huskies made several second half substitutions, bringing in a wave of younger players and the fresh legs paid off, as the Saint Mary's offence finally came alive up after the 80^th minute.

A shot by defender Cameron Zinn (Bridgewater, NS) was saved by Sea-Hawks goalkeeper Daniel Hanlon (St. Philip's, NL), but the Huskies won a corner kick.

Off the corner, James Spence (Hammonds Plains, NS), played a great ball into the box which found the head of Huskies reserve defender Callum Corkum (Camperdown, NS), who directed it into goal for his first career AUS marker, cutting the Sea-Hawks lead in half, 2-1 in the 82^nd minute.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ⚽️

Callum Corkum scores off a corner kick in the 82nd minute to put the Huskies within a goal of the Sea-Hawks. pic.twitter.com/NNlI3MCISL

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 29, 2022

The Huskies offence kept pushing as striker Jalen Loague hit the crossbar twice over the next six minutes.

In the 88^th minute, first year forward Tyson Pinsent (Fredericton, NB) was taken down in the box by a Sea-Hawks defender giving the Huskies a penalty kick. Striker Ahmed Ibrahim (Halifax, NS) stepped to the spot and made no mistake, beating Hanlon to tie the match at 2-2.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ⚽️

Ahmed Ibrahim's 89th minute penalty kick ties the match at 2-2 and secures a point for the Huskies. pic.twitter.com/g62ZQLCLRP

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 29, 2022

Subway Player of the Game honours went to Huskies winger James Spence, who had the assist on Corkum's goal and was one of just four Huskies who played the full 90 minutes in the match.

With the draw, the Sea-Hawks finished the season with a record of 4-6-2, and come up just short of the playoffs with 14 points on the season.

The Huskies finished the season with a record of 6-3-3, and will head to Sydney, N.S. to compete in next week's AUS Championship Playoffs as the #4 seed. The Huskies will be matched up against the #5 seed Moncton Aigles-Bleus in Wednesday's quarterfinal.

Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics