TORONTO – On a moonlit Halloween night the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's soccer team defeated the McMaster Marauders 1-0 and punched their ticket to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final.
The win also clinched a spot in the Canadian University Sport (USPORTS) Nationals taking place in Victoria, B.C. from Nov. 12-15.
The Bold entered this game after a three hour grueling contest against the Carleton Ravens on Oct. 25 where they prevailed in shootouts. This time around, the squad wanted to get the job done in the 90 minute frame. The Marauders comparatively fought their way to the semi-finals after a 4-3 penalty shootout against the Western Mustangs.
This game would prove to not be easy for either team to take.
"[McMaster] was excellent. On the ball, just overall," said Bold head coach
Filip Prostran.
The Bold wasted no time settling into the game. Fourth year forward
Exosse Kadiebue accepted a ball and tore down the centre field, beating a McMaster defender and striking it into the bottom left corner. TMU was up
1-0 in the first five minutes of play.
"It felt great honestly," described Kadiebue.
Scoring early provides a safety net, but it can also be hard to navigate in a high stakes game.
"When you score that early, it's tricky. You almost stop playing," added Prostran. "Is this enough? Do we need to score another one?"
The Bold continued to apply pressure, maintaining possession in the Marauders end. The Marauders then caught a break with a run down the line from their winger, but a strong Bold defence left him no options with the ball where it went out the back.
The first threat to TMU's lead resulted from a foul ten feet from the Bold's 18-yard box. A Marauder winger wound up for the kick and it would be quickly expelled by the Bold's strong wall.
Goalkeeper
Dante Ferraro, who was the hero in penalties in the previous match, tallied his first save in the 14th minute by cleanly catching a corner attempt.
Halfway into the frame both teams were trading possessions, with most of the action in no man's land. McMaster broke the deadlock making an advance where it was stopped by Ferraro right at his legs.
A near chance for the Bold to increase the lead came in the 24th minute when
Luc Ihama caught a rebound from a free kick but found the post instead of the net.
A yellow card was issued to
Luca Porfiris minutes later, rewarding the Marauders with a free kick right at the edge of the box. The Bold wall manned by continued to do its job blocking the ball and clearing it away.
This time on the defensive end, Ihama made a massive clearance in the box robbing McMaster of another scoring opportunity. The Bold's defensive efforts played a tremendous role in the first half of play, dispelling ten different McMaster corner and shot opportunities.
"I think we stayed structured together and we handled a lot of pressure," said Ihama. "Mac played a really good game, so I give a lot of credit to the team."
Ferraro made another huge save in the dying minutes of the frame, diving to stop a McMaster attempt in the box. Ferraro would exit the half with three saves tallied.
Despite McMaster's pressure in TMU's end, the halftime whistle blew with the score remaining 1-0 in favour of the home side. With only two shots on goal in the first half, the offensive production needed to increase going into the second for Prostran's squad to maintain the lead.
Quickly into the second half, midfielder
Ivan Nechyporuk fired a ball inside the box but caught the Marauders' crossbar.
Minutes later, a Marauders foul rewarded the Bold with a free kick.
Sebastian Castello took the kick which was met by a punch from goalkeeper Ethan Cagalj.
Despite playing a defensive role to end the first, TMU came out in the second half applying relentless offensive pressure with attempts from a
Tadija Vukas bicycle kick and
Taha Ilyass attempt. The Bold doubled their shot count within ten minutes of the second half.
Ihama conceded a yellow card due to a challenge against a Marauder midfielder. The free kick amounted to nothing as it was effectively cleared away.
In the 59th minute, a McMaster attempt went wide of the net.
The Bold were commanding the field, beating the Marauders to the ball, shutting down any goal opportunities they created.
Moments later, McMaster got frustrated when the official allowed an advantage play in TMU's favour in their defensive end.
In the 70th minute, Porfiris single-handedly shut down a McMaster breakaway to send it out for a corner. Subsequently, Ilyass fired another shot off which was collected by the Marauders keeper.
Tyler Yasaka came on for Kadiebue in the latter minutes of the frame.
Alexander Santillan joined the play taking over for Ihama.
TMU attempted to pad its lead, with the offence taking advantage of rebounds to produce a goal but the McMaster defence stayed on top of them to keep the ball out.
McMaster scrambled to keep themselves in the game. Marauders midfielder Romain Sordet was given a yellow card for his physicality.
Seven minutes of added time were tallied onto the end of the game. Those final minutes were the most tense of the match, with McMaster fighting to keep its season alive and TMU wanting to punch its ticket to the OUA final for the first time since 2022.
A McMaster free kick right near the box would threaten that lead but it sailed over the crossbar.
The Bold ultimately prevailed. The final whistle blew and the squad stormed the field in celebration.
"The guys fought, rolled up their sleeves. Defensively did really well, and you know… sometimes one goal is enough," said Prostran.
The Bold return to Downsview Park next week to host the OUA final.
"The most exciting part is being able to host [the final]," said Prostran. "A lot of these seniors get that moment and go to nationals...It's a [great] feeling for sure."
Opponent and kick off time are to be determined. Stay in the loop by following our social channels @tmubold and @tmuboldmsoc on Instagram, or check for updates here at tmubold.ca.
