Sea-Hawks Fly Past REDS
(ST. JOHN'S, NL) The Memorial Sea-Hawks scored three second half goals on route to a 3-1 win over the UNB REDS in Atlantic University Sport men's soccer action, Friday night in St. John's.
Augustine Opuoro (St. John's, NL) scored in the 76th minute and Brent Hennebury scored in the 78th minute to break what had been an even game wide open.
"It was a difficult game against a disciplined MUN team," said REDS' head coach Barry Morrison. "They took full advantage of their opportunities and were rewarded for their efforts."
The REDS opened the scoring in the 33rd minute when Alex Oprea (Winnipeg, MB) struck a ball that deflected off a Memorial defender and past Sea-Hawks keeper, and former RED, Louis-Charles Vaillancourt (Sherbrooke, QC).
A short time later, Christopher Schmit (Vancouver, BC) had a chance to extend UNB's lead but was turned away by Vaillancourt.
The REDS applied constant pressure throughout the first half and took their 1-0 lead to the half-time break.
Early in the second, following a UNB foul, Jacob Grant (St. John's, NL) fired a hard shot that eluded REDS keeper Ahmed Hassona (Richmond, BC).
The teams engaged in a bit of a defensive struggle for the next 20 minutes, until Opuoro and Hennebury turned the tide in favour of the home team.
"We put up a good fight through 90 minutes, but couldn't find the breakthrough we needed to shift the momentum," said Morrison.
The loss drops UNB's record to 1-2-0 while the Sea-Hawks improve to 2-1-0.
UNB and Memorial will conclude their weekend series on Saturday in a game scheduled to begin at 6:45pm Atlantic time.
RECAP BY: UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: MUN Athletics