OSHAWA, Ont. – It was only game one of the OUA men's soccer regular season but the 1-1 draw between UOIT and Nipissing had a playoff like atmosphere at Vaso's Field on Saturday.
 
Fast forward to the 74^th minute, when a UOIT corner kick deflected off Curtis Apeah (Mississauga, Ont.) to captain Erik Petrovic (Serbia). After a failed first attempt, Petrovic used his back heel to punch the ball by Nipissing goalkeeper Grainger Munro.
 
Five minutes later, the Lakers sent the ball in the box that was scooped up by UOIT goalkeeper Travis Martin (Whitby, Ont.). A Nipissing player would bump into Martin, causing a scrum in front of the net. One red card for UOIT striker Fabio Campoli (Vaughan, Ont.) resulted from the brush up, who looked to be at first glance just an outsider in the encounter.
 
From that point forward, the soccer match looked more like a rugby game. Both teams were called for a number of fouls following big collusions and the teams were issued three more yellow cards while Andy Bago of Nipissing received a red.
 
After a UOIT foul just as the game just entered injury time, Nipissing would level the score as Connor Speers headed the ball behind Martin, who was forced out of position challenging the play.
 
Despite each team earning a point when the final whistle blew, the hostility between the two benches would continue with the players yelling across the field at one another. In total, the teams combined for 26 fouls and seven cards.
 
Final shots attempted would finish 11-8 in favour of Nipissing. Martin would end up with 7 saves in the tie.
 
UOIT will look to get their first win of the season on Sunday against the Laurentian Voyageurs. Laurentian opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Trent this afternoon.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 0-2-2
Conference Record: 0-0-1
 
Next Game: Sunday, Aug. 30 vs. Laurentian (2 p.m.)