The University of Montreal Carabins defeated the Guelph Gryphons 1-0 in extra time on Saturday afternoon, advancing to the finals of the U Sports men’s soccer national championship against the Carleton Ravens.
A resilient, back-and-forth defensive effort from both sides resulted in an entertaining yet low-scoring match.
“My boys were exceptional,” Carabins head coach Pat Raimondo said. “They didn’t panic. We never were in trouble. [Our] keeper made the big save when he had to and our MVP [came] up with a big goal in overtime for us.”
Both teams felt out the game in the first 20 minutes. Guelph defender Jack Pensom made a terrific defensive play off of a run from Montreal midfielder Mohamadou Sylla, one of many moments of strong defence for Guelph in the first half.
The Gryphons have been a notoriously strong defensive team, allowing only three goals in the entirety of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season.
“In 90 minutes, we [didn’t] concede against one of the top teams in the country,” Gryphons head coach Keith Mason said. “We just don’t concede many goals and that’s due to the quality of our defence … and of course [goalkeeper Svyatoslav] Artemenko is our last line of defence.”
Montreal forward and U Sports Player of the Year Guy-Frank Essome Penda played a large role in creating opportunities for the Carabins. One of their best chances came in the 22nd minute, when a cross into the Guelph box nearly found Sylla on the near post, but Guelph held strong and cleared the ball.
The game opened up in the second half, with both teams generating higher quality chances. Artemenko made some terrific saves throughout the second half to keep Montreal off the board.
“Artemenko, in my opinion, is the best goalie in U Sports. He’s outstanding,” Mason said. “Whenever we need him, he’s always there. He’s just quality … He’s a really good young man who’s going to light up U Sports for a while.”
Artemenko was forced to stand strong against Essome Penda on a nice cross into the box. Essome Penda found the ball, but his header was miraculously stopped by the Guelph keeper for a save that could go down as the best of the tournament.
Later on, it was Guelph’s turn to push as they dinged one off the bar in the later stages of regulation. That was the best opportunity Guelph would have, as it remained scoreless into added time.
After a solid back and forth, the Carabins finally broke through in the 100th minute off a goal from Essome Penda. The star forward drilled a rebound into the back of the net to give Montreal the 1-0 lead.
“To be honest, I always think that I am going to score—I just don’t know when,” he said. “The only thing I know to do is to work and when the opportunity comes, I strike.”
Following the goal, the Carabins shut down the Guelph attack and closed the door on the number four ranked team in the nation.
The win sends Montreal to the finals at 2 p.m. Sunday to face off against the Ravens. Carleton, which executed a heart-racing 2-0 comeback in the quarterfinal and staved off a similar comeback to win in the semifinal, is making its first appearance in the national title game since 2002.
Both teams will be playing on short rest, having played two games each in the past three days.
“We have two physios traveling with us,” Raimondo said. “They worked a 16-hour shift yesterday to get the boys ready for today and they’re going to work another 16-hour shift to get the boys ready for tomorrow.”
The Gryphons will go up against the Laval Rouge et Or in the bronze medal match at 11 a.m. Sunday morning.
“We’ve still got a medal to fight for,” Mason said. “We’ve got an opportunity to win a U Sports medal and not many athletes can say they’ve got a U Sport medal, so we’ve still got business to do.”
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
