TORONTO - The Western Mustangs defeated the Carleton Ravens 3-2 in penalty kicks to claim the OUA bronze medal on Sunday, November 8 at Varsity Centre.
Western came out strong, maintaining possession for the first 10 minutes of the contest. First-year Ravens striker Jonni Okai (Ottawa) began to rally his squad with solid pressure on the Mustangs defence.
Carleton’s best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 35th minute when Sam McHugh (Russell, Ont.) sent a hard shot that tipped off Western goalkeeper Andrew Murdoch’s (Burlington, Ont.) fingers and hit the cross bar.
The game remained 0-0 at the half.
Both teams picked up their pace in the second half and second-year Western defender Ian Meagher (Mississauga, Ont.) sent a hard shot on goal that knocked the wind out of Ravens goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa).
Ravens striker Caki Simrooglu (Izmir, Turkey) headed a pass from Okai in the 75th minute that sailed just over the Western net.
Western and Carleton continued to exchange scoring opportunities in the remaining 15 minutes of regulation, however neither team would find the back of the net as the game was forced into overtime.
After another scoreless 30 minutes the bronze-medal match headed into penalty kicks for the third time in as many games at the OUA final four championship.
Daniel Frankel (Toronto), Vince Caminiti (London, Ont.) and Michael Marcoccia (London, Ont.) scored in penalty kicks for the Mustangs and Murdoch came up with a big save on Carleton’s Halid Sefic (Burlington, Ont.) to secure the 3-2 shootout victory and the OUA bronze medal.
The game was won by a 3-2 Western edge in shots from the penalty area. A day earlier, Western lost its bid for the 2009 CIS Men's Soccer Nationals, losing on shots from the penalty area to the Toronto Varsity Blues. Toronto lost 1-0 to McMaster in the OUA Championship on Nov. 8.
Here is a breakdown of shooters between Carleton and Western:
1) Carleton - #8 Sam McHugh - goal
1) Western - #17 Daniel Frankel - goal
2) Carleton - #14 Milan Arsenault-Verrelli - no goal
2) Western - #8 Eric Amato - no goal
3) Carleton - #16 Mitch Houlahan - goal
3) Western - #7 Vince Caminiti - goal
4) Carleton - #17 Halid Sefic - no goal
4) Western - #19 Michael Marcoccia - goal
5) Carleton - #4 Stefano Vieira - no goal
