By Francesco Cautillo

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men’s soccer team defeated the Carleton University Ravens in a blockbuster 120-minute shootout victory in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) quarterfinal on Saturday night at Downsview Park.

The two rivals share a deep and historic rivalry during OUA playoff matches, dating back over a decade, as previously reported by The Eyeopener.

Despite the Bold claiming their most recent regular-season meeting with a 2-1 win on Oct.4, the Ravens came into the game in fresher form, having defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs in the opening wild-card match on Oct. 21. 

After kick-off, both teams took the time to shake out their nerves and establish their mindset with possession-based football.

Around 15 minutes in, Carleton began to break free from the TMU defence, ripping a shot from just inside the 18-yard box, which was parried away by fifth-year goalkeeper Dante Ferraro. 

Carleton tried to play the ball around the back line, hoping to bypass TMU’s attacking pressure. However, this resulted in risky chances, such as third-year defender Luc Ihama’s chip shot, which was cleared out of desperation by the Ravens defence.

Yellow cards began to fly around the 35th minute, with frustration starting to get the better of both sides as the Downsview crowd waited for a goal to break the deadlock.

Second-year Bold defender Hazim Kadib took a rough fall, forcing him off the field and adding three minutes of injury time before the half.

It took until the 62nd minute for the score to eventually break uneven, with the opener coming from Ravens first-year defender Anthony Nonez. As the ball was taken down the Bold goal line, it was passed in front of the net, where Nonez perfectly placed the half-volley into the bottom left corner past Ferraro.

After the goal, Carleton chances pummeled the TMU defensive zone, as the Ravens were not satisfied with only one goal and 20 minutes of regulation time still in hand. 

In the 79th minute, the Bold were given a free-kick chance just outside the box, but the shot was placed narrowly wide of the top left corner and the Ravens held their late lead. 

In a matter of seconds, however, the game script flipped, and TMU were gifted a 95th-minute penalty after a passing play inside the box led to a reckless tackle by the Carleton defence.

With less than a minute left in added time, third-year midfielder Aidan Hugo stepped up and confidently smashed the ball into the bottom right corner. Despite smacking off the goalkeeper’s glove, the shot was too powerful to stop and went in as the game’s equalizing goal.

A game and rivalry of this magnitude was not worthy of only 90 minutes, as the two sides headed into extra time.

The first 15 minutes of extra time would settle nothing, as fouls and tensions only rose towards the impending final 15 in addition to the looming thought of penalty kicks.

The second half proved similar, remaining scoreless despite only exchanges in possession, with the only consistency being that the feistiness remained on both sides.

After 120 minutes of evenly matched soccer, the game would be decided with a penalty shootout.

In penalties, it was fifth-year goalie Dante Ferraro who stole the show, saving two of the five rounds of penalties. After TMU slotted home a go-ahead kick, all the pressure fell on Ferraro, and the veteran goalie came back big again, saving the final penalty kick and keeping alive not only his OUA playing career, but also this TMU squad’s championship dreams.

After benches cleared and celebrations erupted, spectators rushed the pitch to celebrate a hard-fought 5-4 home victory that sent the team back to the OUA semifinals for the first time since 2024.

UP NEXT: TMU will host the McMaster University Marauders in the OUA semifinals at Downsview Park on Oct. 31. Kick-off time is still to be determined.