Matt Arnone's goal in the 110^th minute led the York University Lions men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Carabins in their Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) quarter-final on Thursday (Nov. 5) in Charlottetown.
 
The win advances the Lions to the CIS semifinals for the second straight year.
 
Arnone (Woodbridge, Ont.) didn't come into the game until the 105^th minute to provide the Lions an offensive spark and some fresh legs as the game wore on. The decision proved to be a wise one for CIS coach of the year Carmine Isacco as Arnone made the most of his time on the pitch.
 
The Lions dominated play early in the contest and generated multiple offensive attacks, but were never able to get in close or create any solid scoring chances. They had three corners in the first 23 minutes of play but none of them were a threat.
 
As the first half continued, the Carabins settled in and took control of the play but also had trouble getting in tight.
 
The first half ended scoreless, with York's Colm Vance (Bradford, Ont.) and Montreal's Mario Gerges each recording one save.
 
The two teams played an even second half that got chippy as the game neared extra time. Both goalkeepers stood tall on the shots that came their way, but neither was challenged much.
 
The Lions once again settled into control of the play in the first part of extra time as they controlled ball possession and kept the ball in Montreal's end. Ten minutes in, it looked like the Lions had taken the lead when the ball ricocheted into the net off a Montreal defender, but York forward Dena Iezady (Richmond Hill, Ont.) was called offside on the play and the goal didn't count.
 
He was subbed off 10 minutes later for Arnone, who became the hero with the biggest goal of his career.
 
The Lions played a tight defensive game for the final 10 minutes of action, denying the Carabins of any real opportunity to find the equalizer.
 
Vance finished with four saves in the contest and Gerges two. The Lions were credited with six shots overall in the game, to six different players. Montreal finished with 10, including three each by Alan Torrent and Maxime Laurey.
 
Defender Henry Moody (Toronto) was named the player of the game for his tremendous play at the back. He was responsible for clearing many dangerous balls out of the box throughout the game.
 
The Lions will now play in the second semifinal on Friday evening (Nov. 6) at 6:30pm AT against either the Canada West champion Saskatchewan Huskies or the host UPEI Panthers. The winner will move on to the CIS championship match on Sunday, while the loser will play for bronze.


 

The Lions are off to the CIS semi-finals after Arnone's goal in the 109th min! They will take on the winner of UPEI and Saskatchewan at 5:30pm ET on CIS-SIC.tv. ???? yorku lionpride #yorklions

A photo posted by York Lions (@yorkulions) on Nov 11, 2014 at 3:52pm PST