NORTH BAY, Ont. – Failing to execute in the second half. That seems to be the theme for the UOIT men's soccer team as of late as they have now lost three straight games after entering halftime tied.
On Saturday afternoon in North Bay, the Nipissing Lakers scored two second half goals as they picked up a 3-1 victory over the Ridgebacks.
Tied 1-1 after 45 minutes, Brandon TeBrake and Jean-Michel Paulin scored a pair of goals just seven minutes into the second half to put the Lakers in front. In the 77
th minute, UOIT looked to be in prime position to cut the lead in half but Nipissing goalkeeper Grainger Munro stopped a Ridgeback penalty kick.
Alexander Cuccovillo (Mississauga, Ont.) was the lone goal scorer for UOIT as he netted his first of the season 15 minutes into the first half. Cuccovillo sat out the majority of the first half of the season with an injury.
Cuccovillo's goal was the only production that came out of the UOIT offence as they registered just four shots on goal.
Luckily for UOIT, Laurentian dropped a 1-0 decision to the Trent Excalibur and remain three points behind the Ridgebacks for the final playoff position in the OUA eastern conference. The win was Trent's first of the year.
UOIT and Laurentian will square off in Sudbury on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. With only five games remaining in their regular season, all games are critical for UOIT if they want to make their second straight playoff appearance.
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKSOverall Record: 4-9-2
Conference Record: 4-6-1
Next Game: Sun. Oct. 11 @ Laurentian (2:15 p.m.)
