NIKO
2
Ryerson RYERSON (0-1-0)
3
Winner York YORK (1-0-0)
Ryerson RYERSON
(0-1-0)
2
Final
3
York YORK
(1-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Ryerson RYERSON 0 2 0 0 2
York YORK 2 0 0 1 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

SIGUR'S LAST-MINUTE GOAL GIVES LIONS THRILLING 2OT WIN OVER RAMS IN OUA SEMIFINAL

Niko Sigur, a rookie midfielder for the York University Lions men's soccer team, scored the winning goal in the 119th minute to give the Lions a 3-2 extra time victory in their OUA semifinal contest against the Rams.
 
A raucous home crowd of 1,056 fans at York Lions Stadium took in a spectacular game that was filled with plenty of action and drama. With the win, the Lions advance to the OUA championship match for the eighth straight year and will battle the Guelph Gryphons for the conference banner in the final.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The Lions controlled play for the first part of the game and got a couple of early shots on Ryerson goalkeeper Praveen Ahilan. They were rewarded for their efforts in the 12th minute when Omar Marzouk headed in a corner kick from Niko Sigur to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead.
  • Tensions rose in the 28th minute when York midfielder Emmanuel Zambazis was tackled hard to the ground and teammate Gabriel Jodhan was red-carded for a retaliation, forcing the Lions to play a man down for the rest of the game.
  • Despite that, the Lions stretched their lead to two in the 44th minute on a beautiful goal by Soji Olatoye, who took a pass from Marzouk and flicked it into the net past Ahilan. The score was 2-0 at the half.
  • The script was flipped in the second half and it was the Rams controlling the play early. They cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 54th minute on a goal by Christian Westlaken.
  • The Lions managed just one shot on Ahilan in the second half, and in the 83rd minute the Rams levelled the score on a goal by Brandon Barone to send the game to extra time.
  • Neither team mustered much of a threat for most of the extra time. The Lions had a great chance late in the game with a four-on-one situation, but the referees blew the play dead due to a foul at midfield on the Rams.
  • Just when it looked as though the game was headed to PKs, the Lions netted the winner in the 119th minute. Olatoye made a nifty move in the box to pass the ball to Sigur, who made no mistake by firing it into the left corner to ignite the home crowd.

NOTABLE NUMBERS
  • Marzouk, Olatoye and Sigur each contributed a goal and an assist in the win.
  • Olatoye led all players with four shots on goal, while Marzouk had three.
  • York goalkeeper George Tzimas made three saves in the win, while Ahilan stopped five shots.
  • The Rams were awarded 11 corner kicks in the game, compared to only three for the Lions.
  • A total of 13 cards were handed out in the drama-filled contest.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
 
The Lions will battle for their sixth title in the last eight seasons on Saturday night when they head to Guelph, Ont., to face the Gryphons in the championship match. The winner of the game will not only claim the OUA banner but also earn the OUA's second spot at the U SPORTS championships the following week. The Carleton Ravens, who lost their semifinal to Guelph on Saturday, already have the first spot as hosts.
 
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