(SYDNEY, NS) Olivier Menard's (Ottawa, ON) goal in the 82nd minute was the game-winner as the No. 3 UNB REDS scored a 3-2 win over the No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers in one of two Atlantic University Sport men's soccer quarter-finals, in Sydney, on Thursday.
Menard won a header in the Tigers box off a free kick by Jackson Purbs (Welland, ON).
"We knew we needed to win before overtime," said Menard. "We were committed to getting that done and I was fortunate to be able to capitalize."
While the REDS advanced, they looked like anything but the higher seed in the early going.
The REDS survived some early Tigers' scoring opportunities in the first half, and conceded the first goal, in the 33rd minute, when Ryan McCahill (Toronto, ON) took a pass in the middle and beat REDS keeper Mahmoud Moustafa (Stratford, PE) to give Dal an early lead.
The REDS would counter ten minutes later.
In the 43rd minute, off a corner kick, Keji Adeniyi (London, UK) would get a head on the ball and knock it to the turf. Simon Bisaillon (Ottawa, ON) found that ball at his feet and he tapped it into the Tigers net to pull the REDS even.
"It feels great to score in the playoffs," said Bisaillon. "It was a full team effort to get that goal."
In the 67th minute, it was Adeniyi's turn.
After missing on his first swipe at a loose ball in the Tigers box, he connected on his second to beat Dal keeper Sinclair Astridge (Victoria, BC) to give the REDS their first lead at 2-1.
The Tigers would even the score 2-2 on a penalty in the 76th minute, but UNB would rally and secure the win with Menard's contribution in the dying minutes.
"Dal had the better of the play for most of the first half," said REDS' head coach Barry Morrison. "It was a difficult task to take them on, but we settled into the game and began to cause them problems late in the first. It was a full team effort to find a critical win."
With the victory, the REDS move on to the conference semi-finals.
UNB faces No. 2 STFX on Friday. Game time is scheduled for 8:00pm, on the turf at Ness Timmons Field, at Cape Breton University.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics with files from CBU Athletics
PHOTOS BY: Vaughan Merchant/for CBU Athletics