Vancouver – In the second of two Canada West Final Six quarter-final matchups, the University of Victoria Vikes prevailed over the Calgary Dinos 2-1 in extra time Thursday evening to advance to the semifinals of the league playoff tournament.
After 76 minutes of scoreless action, Gavin Barrett and Kieran Hay added late markers sending the game into extra time where Barrett added his second of the game in the 111th minute.
"I thought we were outstanding," said Vikes head coach Bruce Wilson. "Calgary's keeper played great making a number of saves to keep them in it but at the end of the day the best team won."
Despite dominating the first half and rarely allowing Calgary to leave the defensive zone, UVic had nothing to show for it, as the game remained scoreless at half time. A number of point-blank saves highlighted Dinos' goalkeeper Jordan Unreiner's play in the opening half.
The Vikes broke the deadlock in the 74th minute as Gavin Barrett was able to redirect a header off a Dominic Colantonio free kick past Unreiner.
UVic's lead was short-lived, however, as the Dinos were able to bury one in the 87th minute courtesy second-year midfielder Hay who leaped over a goalmouth crowd to head in a cross from Kieran Lane-Oppenheim to even the game up at 1-1.
The game would remain that way until the 111th minute, where Victoria's Barrett headed in another ball after a mad scramble inside the goal area, beating Unreiner to seal the deal for the Vikes.
Calgary goalkeeper Unreiner, who was peppered with shots throughout the game, finished with 15 saves while his counterpart, Elliott Mitrou finished with three.
With the win, the Vikes will take on the Saskatchewan Huskies (8-4-2) in the semifinals. The Huskies enter ias the seventh-ranked team in the CIS and winner of the Prairie Division. The Vikes will look to turn the tables on the Huskies as Saskatchewan eliminated them in last year's Canada West quarter-final.
Despite the loss, Calgary head coach Brian McDonnell was pleased with the team's effort and resilience.
"Victoria had a very good performance and our goalkeeper kept us in it for long stretches," added McDonnell. "We showed a lot of heart getting the late goal but tip your hat to Victoria."
Calgary finishes its season in the Canada West quarterfinal round after a 6-6-2 regular season.
The semifinal matchup kicks off at 4:30 p.m. on Friday at David Sidoo Field. The winner of that game will advance to Sunday's Canada West final and automatically clinch a berth to the CIS men's soccer championship.
SCORING SUMMARY
1-2-OT1-OT2 : F
VIC: 0-1-0-1: 2
CGY: 0-1-0- 0: 1
GOAL SCORERS
UVIC: Gavin Barrett (74th, 115th)
CGY: Kieran Hay (86th)
