For the second time in as many years, penalties have broken the hearts of the Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team.
Battling for over 120 minutes of action, it all came down to five kicks of the ball.
But for those 120 minutes, it was an even battle between the Ravens and the University of Cape Breton Capers Nov. 8 at Le Stade TELUS-Université Laval in Quebec City.
Qualifying for nationals for the first time since 2008, when they qualified due to hosting, the Ravens ran themselves into the ground.
For the first half of action, it was a battle in the midfield. Crunching tackles flew in as both teams tried to dictate the action. Ravens captain Sam McHugh popped up everywhere, showing off the range of passing that had him named to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) second all-star team.
“I think we showed up today. We were very focused. When you play 120 minutes and the game result comes from ‘PKs’, it’s gut wrenching,” assistant coach Kwesi Loney said.
Fielding a team packed with prior experience at nationals, Cape Breton started the brighter of the teams. They tried to catch out Carleton’s experienced back line with long balls over the top, trying to find striker Ian Greedy. But the defensive partnership of Michael Calof and Christophe Laberge Perrault were more than capable of dealing with the threat.
As the half developed, Carleton tried to get top scorer Andrew Latty into the game. Isolated at the top of the attack, his chances were few and far between in the first half.
Halftime provided a welcome respite for both teams.
The Capers once again started brightly, forcing keeper Mark Krocko to make several acrobatic saves. The Maritime outfit took advantage of space in front of the defence to run at Carleton.
But with 60 minutes gone, injuries struck. Laberge Perault pulled up and had to go off with what looked like a strain. Halid Sefic came on only to get an injury minutes after stepping on to the field.
With a place to the semi-finals on the line, Laberge Perault refused to abandon his team. He returned to the field, visibly injured and limping to make several more blocks and headers before being substituted again.
Fielding first year midfielder Julian Piccioli in the heart of defence, the Ravens not only battled on, they started dictating the game. With multiple first year players on the field, the Ravens refused to buckle.
“For these guys to come in and do a job on a stage like this, it’s usually overwhelming. They showed a lot of confidence,” Loney said.
Fouth-year midfielder Joey Kewin and Latty started clicking, as Kewin started bombing down the right wing. The Capers struggled to deal with him, hacking him down whenever he pushed past them.
Latty, who had been named to the first Canadian All-Star team on Wednesday, had several half chances to put the Ravens up. With a defenceman on his right, he broke free and chipped it past the onrushing keeper, only to see his shot hit the top of the bar.
Forced to head to overtime, the Ravens had the better chances of the two teams. With exhaustion taking over, both teams started coughing up mistakes. A shot from the Capers ended up going out for a throw in as the player had completely mis-hit it.
Kewin had perhaps the best chance of the game as he broke into the box with five minutes remaining in extra time. He jinked to his right, then tried to pull the ball back on to his left only to be crowded out by the last ditch efforts of Cape Breton’s defence men.
With the sound of the final whistle, it went to the spot.
Joey Kewin and Alexksandar Despotovic saw their attempts saved while Krocko proved inspirational between the sticks to keep his team in the game. With one kick needed to tie the game and continue the kicks, midfielder Ryan Beckford saw his attempt saved as he drove it right at the keeper’s chest.
The Cape Breton bench charged on to the field as Carleton’s players dropped to the turf, exhausted and distraught.
Despite the loss, Loney says the experience will prove invaluable for the team.
“It shows promise for the future, for them to get this experience, and we can look forward to next year,” he said.
