Men’s soccer quarterfinal #1: Dalhousie wins 2-1 in penalty kicks over Acadia

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - In the first quarterfinal of the Subway AUS men's soccer championship at Huskies Stadium, third-place Dalhousie defeated sixth place Acadia 2-1 in a wet and windy game.  The conditions affected both teams, as the ball became very unpredictable in the air resulting in many unexpected scoring chances.

Acadia controlled most of the play in the first half as first-year forward Matthew Berrigan rang one off the post in the eighth minute and had several other chances that were stopped by third-year goaltender Jason Ross. 

The Axemen broke through in the 13^th minute, as Berrigan finished off a cross crease pass from fourth-year striker Eric Merchant to give Acadia the lead.

In the 32^nd minute, Acadia striker Zachary Shaffelburg, received a straight red card for a push from behind in the box along with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that put the Axemen down a man for the rest of the game. 

Third year Tigers' midfielder Bezick Evraire made no mistake with the resulting penalty kick to tie the game up at 1-1.

Dalhousie almost took the lead in the final minute of the half, as midfielder Jack Schembri fired a shot on net but the Acadia keeper made a diving save to keep things deadlocked.

In the second half, Acadia's penalty troubles continued, giving the Tigers multiple offensive chances that they were unable to put away.  Being a man down, the Axemen were forced to play defence for most of the game.

In the final minute, Dalhousie striker Tyler Lewars tipped a ball just wide leaving the game tied heading into overtime.  Third-year Acadia forward Niall McGuiness had a great chance to send the Tigers home with a breakaway in the fourth minute of overtime, but it was stopped by Ross.

The Tigers and Axemen traded a few more chances in overtime but the game would ultimately be decided in a shootout.

In the shootout, Nathan Rogers and Jack Schembri put the Tigers up 2-0 as both Sean Langille-Broderick and Eric Merchant shot high for Acadia.  Corey Cadeau scored for the Axemen on their third shot, but Bezick Evraire put his shot in the top left corner to secure the 2-1 victory for the Tigers and end Acadia's season.

Dalhousie will now face the host second-seeded Saint Mary's in Saturday's semifinal game at 3 p.m.


Source: Saint Mary's Sport Information