Late Comeback Lifts REDS Over Aigles Bleus
(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS rallied in the second half against l'Universite de Moncton Aigles Bleus, scoring two unanswered goals to win UNB's Think Pink game 2-1.
Lars Gierull (Ottawa, ON) scored the game-winning goal for the REDS in extra time.
"At halftime, we said we have to keep doing what we were doing," said Gierull. "We were creating a lot of chances; we were playing well. We just needed to stick with the process, keep going, keep creating those chances and we just have to finish them. We knew that if we did that, we would win the game."
UNB's Keji Adeniyi (London, UK) nearly scored with a header in the 9th minute, but the ball bounced off the crossbar. It was the first of several near-misses from the REDS in the first half.
Moncton took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute, as Lionel Feval (Rivière Salée, Martinique) scored on a penalty kick.
Mahmoud Moustafa (Stratford, PE), goalkeeper for UNB, saved a high shot from Moncton's Jonathan Kisse (Toronto, ON) in the 43rd minute to keep his team from falling further behind.
Coming into the second half down 1-0, the REDS had more opportunities come short. Moncton keeper Matteo Blanc (Flavin, France) had four saves in each half.
In the 76th minute, UNB's Olivier Menard (Ottawa, ON) chipped in a corner kick from Stefano D'Ambrogio's (Toronto, ON) past Blanc to even up the match.
With the game tied and time running out, REDS head coach Barry Morrison urged his team not to settle for a draw.
Gierull responded with the game-winning goal for UNB in extra time. The third-year player was named Tim Hortons Player of the Game for his late-game heroics.
"We found ourselves tied at the end of the game. I was just super glad I was able to score at the end of the game to get the three points," he said.
UNB, now 4-1-1, has a quick turnaround for their next game. The REDS play UPEI tomorrow at 3:15 pm in Charlottetown.
"The plan is to get recovered, cool down, stretch, get in the ice baths if we can, and then wake up early in the morning to go to UPEI," said Gierull.
Moncton falls to 2-3-3 on the season. They play next against Saint Mary's at home on Saturday.
Recap by Peter Jewett for UNB Athletics
Photos by James West for UNB Athletics