By Keiran Gorsky
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to the McMaster University Marauders in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) finals at Downsview Park on Saturday night.
A controversial decision that saw TMU forward Luca Di Marco sent off with a straight red card was the difference maker in an intense match. Even down a man for much of the contest, a thoroughly organized Bold team had the visitors on their heels all night long.
“It was a really tough call,” said head coach Filip Prostran. “I’d have to see [the incident] on tape to know what happened. But nothing really changed. We still went about it in the same way–I thought we played really well.”
The match started off at a lightning fast pace, much like the semi-finals against the University of Waterloo on Wednesday. It was evident from the kick-off that McMaster would present a very different challenge. Though they were content to concede possession, their towering, Ahmad Mansour-led backline seemed oftentimes impenetrable.
The first 15 minutes were particularly tightly contested, as both teams’ systems seemed to bump off of each other. Tricky runs from McMaster’s Julian Sanchez and Sachin Sargeant amounted to the only early chances.
The controversy started 10 minutes later. A jumping infraction from Di Marco was deemed red card worthy, leaving the Bold a man down—and a very valuable man at that, after Di Marco was named an OUA First Team All-Star earlier this week. The decision prompted a big dispute on and off the field—one that would dictate the rest of the match. The home team did not allow the situation to make them flustered.
If anything, the incident gave them a newfound energy that translated into a series of chances for TMU striker Ameer Kinani. A perfect cluster of passes found Kinani with the ball near the penalty spot, where his shot was parried over the net. A second opportunity resulted in a juicy rebound—perhaps one that would’ve found the back of the net with 11 men.
Kinani continued to be a nuisance in the second half, intercepting a ball off a blistering run from the midfield and forcing a stop out of Ethan Cagalj in the 58th minute. But McMaster’s man advantage began to show. A clever dribble from Jordan Baker opened up space down the flank, and his strike didn’t miss by much. While the Marauders were still confined to the counter attack, it was one that threatened consistently against a Bold defence that refused to lower its lines well into the second half.
McMaster finally punished them in the 79th minute. This time it was Justin Baker, pinging a low ball into the box off a long run down the right side. Forward Amir Shirazi hardly got a foot to it, but it was just enough to beat goalkeeper Ali Ghazanfari at the far post.
The Bold pressed and pressed for the last ten minutes, only to run into the same backline that had frustrated them all game long. It will undoubtedly go down as a match where the home team had everything but a final product.
“We have to use this as motivation,” said Prostran. “It’s a funny game. Sometimes you deserve to win and it goes the other way. The plan is to get to [Nationals] and not dwell on this too much.”
UP NEXT: The Bold head to Thompson River, B.C. this week to compete in the U Sports National Championship.
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