By Angus Blacklock
With second-year midfielder Matthew Fischer’s extra time strike, the York University Lions defeated the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold 2-1 after extra time in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals at York Lions Stadium.
With the result, the Lions advance to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Playoff final to face the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, while the Bold have been eliminated from the playoff stage. The Lions also earned a spot in the U Sports national men’s soccer championships as the Ridgebacks are hosting the tournament and get an automatic spot, leaving the OUA’s spot to York.
The Lions defeated the Guelph Gryphons 5-4 in penalties in their OUA playoff quarter final. In The Bold’s quarter final, it was a pulsating 2-1 extra time victory over the Carleton Ravens at Downsview Park on Wednesday evening that sealed the chance matchup against York. Saturday night’s encounter was the first time the two sides have faced up against each other competitively this season.
York had the first big chance in the match when second-year midfielder Christian Zeppieri strode down the left wing and played in first-year forward Yigal Bruk, whose shot was well-blocked by first-year Bold defender Noah Pickering.
The Lions’ good start was rewarded in the sixth minute when they took an early lead. Bruk dispossessed Bold first-year midfielder Michael Campoli and played in first-year midfielder Luca Accettola, who fired his finish into the left side of the goal to put the hosts up by a goal.
The Bold responded instantly. Fourth-year midfielder Justin Santos had a brilliant run with the ball on the left wing before he played a low ball across the box to fifth-year Bold captain and midfielder Luca Di Marco, who was there to finish the move off and bring the score to 1-1.
York were next to challenge in the 12th minute when Bruk picked up a loose ball inside the Bold box and forced third-year goalkeeper Dante Ferraro to tip his shot onto the bar.
After a quickfire start from both teams, the match began to quiet down with both sides taking their time on the ball and trying to establish their style of play.
In the 31st minute. The Bold had a free kick in a dangerous area taken by Santos but it was well blocked by fourth-year Lions’ midfielder Manveer Gill.
Eight minutes later the Lions came close . First-year attacking midfielder Ryan Robinson got a hold of the ball on the edge of the box and went on a mazy dribble before taking a shot from the 18-yard box that went narrowly wide.
Half-time came at a good time for the Bold as York started to establish dominance, creating more chances and putting the Bold defence under a lot of pressure.
It was a quiet start to the second half with both sides trying to ease back into the match, but the first big opportunity of the half went the way of the Lions on the hour mark. First-year defender James Fidalgo enabled Accettola to a one-on-one situation against Ferraro inside the box, but his attempt at a chip went well over the bar, much to the relief of the Bold.
Di Marco rolled in third-year forward Jevontae Layne in the 63rd minute, but his effort was well saved by fourth-year stopper Alessio Carbone. Bold should’ve used this as a base to build on and start getting forward more, however that didn’t happen and both sides struggled to create chances.
York started to gain momentum in the 80th minute when first-year midfielder Trevor Carabin picked up the ball from just outside the box and aimed for a shot that went narrowly wide of the post. Less than a minute later, third-year forward Justin Cicchillo had a header go narrowly wide.
As extra-time loomed, it became clear both sides had already played 120 minutes of soccer earlier in the week—mistakes and careless fouls began to creep into the play of both sides.
The full time whistle marked a familiar situation for both squads as another half an hour of soccer was to be played in order to find a winner.
York started extra time in similar fashion to how the match started, taking the lead. Cicchillio forced a save from Ferraro, but his save fell at the feet of Fischer. The Toronto product calmly slotted his shot into the back of the net and gave the Lions an early extra-time lead.
After taking the lead, Yorkbegan to drop deeper and surrender possession to the Bold, allowing them to cycle the ball in their own half. However, throughout the first half of extra-time, TMU were unable to test the Lions back line.
The second half of extra-time started in a similar vein —the bold dominated possession but were unable to really test the Lions and get to their goal. As the time went by, the pressure from what was at stake invaded the pitch and the benches, as the Bold head coach Filip Prostran and a Lions associate coach Luca Forno, were booked by the referee for misconduct.
The full time whistle was met with cheers from the home crowd at the York Lions Stadium. Fischer’s extra-time goal was enough to separate the two sides and send York Lions into the OUA Men’s Soccer Championships.
UP NEXT: TMU Bold will now turn their attention to the off-season and work hard to come back stronger next season.
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