REDS Draw With Huskies

(HALIFAX, NS) The Saint Mary's Huskies and UNB REDS played to a 1-1 draw in a physical, back-and-forth match on Friday night at Huskies Stadium, in Halifax.

The Saint Mary's attack started firing on all cylinders right from the very beginning. Huskies forward Sean Freeman's (Halifax, NS) short cross came from the right wing at the 4^th minute to find the foot of the forward Jalen Loague (London, ON) at the perfect time, giving the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. 

Saint Mary's kept pushing, with midfielder Coby Mercer's (Beaverbank, NS) high cross at the 8^th minute giving the home team fantastic chance at extending the lead and Mercer's speed put pressure on the REDS again in the 29^th minute, but was no match for the REDS well-coordinated defense, who swiftly tackled him away. 

After multiple sustained efforts by UNB's attack, striker Keji Adeniyi (London, UK) was able to break through a tough-knit Huskies defense in the 32^nd minute to score an equalizer. 

A 39^th minute close range free-kick attempt at a second goal by Huskies' midfielder Scott Firth was meticulously pushed away by REDS goalkeeper Mahmoud Moustafa (Stratford, PE), leaving the game tied 1-1 at half-time. 

The second half saw a much more aggressive Huskies team, dominating the attack in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

REDS striker Stefan D'Ambrigio (Toronto, ON) had a chance to score in the 65^th minute, but fired a shot high off the crossbar. Saint Mary's goalkeeper Ryan Davis (Lake Loon, NS) dove left in the 70^th minute to stop another dangerous look from the REDS attack. 

In the 72^nd minute, Huskies forward Moe Zeina (Mill Cove, NS) came in off the bench and made his presence be felt immediately with a long shot at the right bottom corner, which was put to a stop by a diving Moustafa.

Both keepers kept making near-impossible saves throughout the final stretch as the pressure ramped up, while the Player of the Game, Huskies defender Callum Corkum (Camperdown, NS) stayed on Adeniyi throughout the end to prevent another goal from the 2022 Atlantic University Sport MVP. 

At the end of extra time, both teams earned a hard-fought single point in the 1-1 draw.

The Huskies will host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus on Saturday while the REDS stay in town to face the Dalhousie Tigers. 

The Huskies second straight draw bring their record to 3-2-2 on the season. The REDS draw brings their record to 5-1-2.

RECAP: Vivek Philendra/for Saint Mary's Athletics

PHOTOS: Eduardo Ibarra/for Saint Mary's Athletics