REDS Advance AT AUS Championship
(SYDNEY, NS) The UNB REDS are moving on at the Subway Atlantic University Sport men's soccer championship, at Cape Breton University.
The REDS scored a 1-0 quarter-final win, in overtime, over the Dalhousie Tigers on a windy Wednesday afternoon, at CBU's Ness Timmons Field.
"Our guys did very well to limit the chances we gave up and find a way to win," said REDS head coach Barry Morrison. "
Luke Rosettani's (Kanata, ON) goal came late in the first 15-minute OT half.
REDS' captain Olivier Menard (Ottawa, ON) floated a ball into the Dal 18-yard box. The shot was mishandled by a Tigers' defender and Rosettani pounced on it and chipped the ball past Dal keeper Aiden Rushenas (Toronto, ON).
"That defender had just come on, so I knew he was a little cold," said Rosettani, in a post-game interview with AUStv. "Once I saw it go to him, I just followed through and when it got to me, I knew I was scoring."
"Luke's goal came at an important time," said Morrison. "We were looking to capitalize on the wind at our back in the first overtime and Luke was able to be in the right spot when Oli played the ball into the box."
"Luke is a big game player and we knew he had the finish in him once in front of the goal," added Morrison.
Playing against the wind in the second 15-minute OT session, veteran REDS' keeper Louis-Charles Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, QC) helped preserve the victory with a sensational diving stop on the short side.
"We thought he should've been an all-star," Rosettani said, in praising the stellar effort of his teammate.
After 90 minutes, the sides were deadlocked 0-0, both teams coming up empty with their advantage of playing with the wind.
Rushenas made the first big stop of the contest, in the opening five minutes, when he turned aside a scoring chance from midfielder Lars Gierull (Ottawa, ON).
Jared Ndopedro (Campbellton, NB) had the first quality opportunity for the Tigers, in the 12th minute, but Vaillancourt charged out to smother the shot, which trickled harmlessly by the left post.
Rosettani and Suliman Elomrani (Halifax, NS) of the Tigers were named the Subway Players of the Game.
Vaillancourt made five saves for the shutout win, while Rushenas turned aside seven shots.
With the victory, the REDS advance to the semi-final round, where they will meet the second-seeded STFX X-Men on Thursday, at 3:00pm ADT.
"We're tired after a demanding game," said Coach Morrison. "We now have to rest and recover and prepare to face a rested X team. X is a strong team, but we feel, if we can take care of the ball, we'll give ourselves chances to win that game."
"We need to keep our heads," said Rosettani. "We have something to prove," noting their regular season ending loss to the X-Men in Antigonish, last week.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics and Corey LeBlanc/for CBU Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Vaughan Merchant/for CBU Athletics