Only feet away from the celebrating McMaster Marauders, members of the Carleton Ravens men's soccer team crumbled to the turf.
Many of them were unable to hold back their emotions after seeing their hopes of advancing to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships shattered.
“This is [CIS soccer] and anything can happen in these games,” said Ravens assistant coach Kwesi Loney. “We’ve been on the winning side of games like this before, and now we’re on the losing side, that’s just kind of how it goes sometimes.”
The Ravens suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinal Nov. 5 at Keith Harris Stadium, giving up a 90th minute equalizer before ultimately falling on penalty kicks.
It was a case of déjà vu for the Ravens, who lost in the exact same fashion back in 2009 when the Marauders ended their championship dream.
“You never want to go to [penalty kicks] and lose a game, ever, but that’s the way the game is and there needs to be a winner,” Loney said.
The game couldn’t have started any worse for the home team.
McMaster took the lead only seven minutes after the opening kick-off, when star striker Mark Reilly silenced a rowdy Ravens crowd.
The Hamilton native took a perfectly weighted through-ball inside the Ravens’ area and beat goalkeeper Mark Krocko at the near post. It was a dream start for the visitors, who built upon the early momentum following the goal.
But the Ravens did eventually manage to claw their way back into the contest after striker Josh Dewar-Morris put Carleton on even terms with the Marauders in the 31st minute.
The 6’0” forward picked up a loose ball nearly 25 yards out, and unleashed a vicious left-footed strike that found the top corner of the Marauders goal. Keeper Matthew Grant could only get a hand on the powerful shot, as the home team was back in the contest and went into the interval on level terms.
After a slow start to the second half, fans were treated to one of the more exciting sequences of the season in the 63rd minute.
The Marauders looked to have snatched the lead when Reilly tapped a low, driven cross past Krocko, only to see the linesman’s flag raised for offside. As the visitors began to celebrate, the Ravens immediately resumed play from the free kick. A long ball down the field fell to striker Caki Simrooglu, who was inches away from the target with a low shot.
When the crowd finally exhaled, the score was still knotted at one apiece.
Only two minutes later, the Ravens found the go-ahead marker through captain Sam McHugh. On his weaker left foot, the OUA all-star curled the ball over the head of Grant from 25 yards out.
As time began to tick away, Carleton, the fourth-ranked team in the nation, looked set for its first appearance at nationals since 2005.
But it was not to be.
With the Ravens clinging to a 2-1 lead in the 90th minute, and the hometown crowd eagerly awaiting the final whistle, McMaster found a last-gasp equalizer.
A long, hopeful ball was played into the Ravens penalty area, and Reilly leapt above the nearest defender to get his head onto it. The ball seemed to travel in slow motion, before bouncing off the post and beyond Krocko.
The striker was a game-time decision coming into the weekend, having not practiced with the team for two weeks following a hamstring injury.
“It was one of those cases where he could have lasted five minutes, but he lasted the whole game and scored two big goals for us. I would have liked for him to score on the three chances he missed though,” McMaster head coach Dino Perri said with a laugh.
As celebrations ensued on the field for McMaster, the Ravens crowd sat quietly, almost in shock of what they had just seen.
“It’s an awful feeling, to be three minutes away from nationals and to come up short,” McHugh said.
Two uneventful halves of extra time followed, forcing the teams to regroup and prepare for what was next: a penalty shootout to decide it all.
The Marauders scored on each of their penalty kicks, finally besting the Ravens and securing themselves a berth in the OUA final Nov. 6 against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and a trip to next weekend’s CIS championship in Victoria, B.C.
The loss not only put an end to the Ravens CIS championship aspirations for another year, but also signalled the end of the university career for two influential players.
Midfield duo Peter Manginas and Justin Campos will both be graduating this year. They each spent five seasons with the squad.
“It seems like we have a curse since I’ve been here. My first year the same fucking thing happened,” said Campos, visibly disappointed after the match. “It’s tough, it’s not fair, especially because we had the team to go to nationals this year.”
But the skillful midfielder was still willing to look back at the positive side of his tenure with the Ravens.
“Every year it’s been amazing, it’s like a family here,” Campos said. “Even if we get eliminated here and there, the good things always outweigh the bad and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Campos and the Ravens will take the field one last time this season in the OUA bronze medal match Nov. 6 against the York Lions.
