Eagles Book Their Tickets to the Finals
Recapping the semi-final upsets that sent the men’s and women’s tri-campus soccer teams to the finals for back-to-back years
For the second season in a row, our men’s team will take on their eternal rivals University of St. George (UTSG) Red, in the outdoor finals. The women’s side also secured a spot in the final against University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) at Valley Fields with an exceptional penalty shootout win against UTSG Blue last Sunday.
A six-goal thriller downtown
The men knew that it was a do-or-die match against UTSG Blue at Varsity Field. The Eagles came out firing, and Aiden Gideon scored the first goal of the match with his wand of a right foot, squeezing the ball between the keeper and the post. The Eagles imposed themselves on the opposition, but a mental mistake from UTM’s back line with just a minute left in the first half helped UTSG Blue equalize with a chip from just outside the box.
The match went from bad to worse in the second 45 when Captain Pietro Arrigoni went down with an injury. The coaching staff, players, and fans began to fear the worst as doubts over Arrigoni’s availability for the final came into question.
The Eagles couldn’t let Arrigoni’s availability for the final distract them. UTM finally settled into the second half of the match with 15 minutes left to play. After a good passing sequence between Paul Doherty and Krish Chaven, Ethan Swan found himself 1v1 on the wing. Swan cut in and whipped a left-footed shot to the far post and into the net. Swan and Gideon both added to their tallies and picked up a brace each. With the final score 4-2 in favour of UTM, the only thing left to think about before the final was the injury to Arrigoni.
The captain provided a statement of encouragement days before the final. “Mentally, I’m feeling fantastic, and physically, I feel better every day, as I nurse my ankle back to full health. I will for sure play in the final.”
Flawless penalty shootout send the Eagles to the final
The women’s team also picked up a critical win in what could have been their last game of the season. The game finished 1-1 in normal time with a penalty shootout to break the tie. The Eagles scored all of 4 of their penalty shots taking home the win and a place in the finals against UTSC.
“Coach Krista Pantin reminded us that this was the most important game of the season,” Amal Rashid, forward for the UTM women’s team. “Every single one of our penalties were scored, despite not preparing to go into penalty kicks. We are super excited to be playing this weekend and look forward to carrying the same energy that we had the previous game.”
