OSHAWA, Ont. – Fabio Campoli scored in the second half of extra time to give the UOIT men's soccer team a 1-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs in the opening round of the OUA playoffs.
Midway through the second half of extra time, Campoli managed to juke a Voyageur defender and rip the ball past Connor Vande Weghe for the lone goal of the match. The win advances UOIT to the OUA quarter-final round for just the second time in program history.
"It was for sure the biggest goal in my OUA career at the school," said Campoli. "I felt like I owed it to the guys who defended hard for 120 minutes. It's a good team result."
The game looked as if it was headed to penalty kicks as both defensive units and goalkeepers were dominant until Campoli's game winner. Led by graduating senior
Davon Greaves (Ajax, Ont.), Ridgeback defenders allowed just seven shots on target, all of which
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) would stop for the clean sheet.
Miller was tested at times but managed to come up with big saves highlighted by a diving effort in the first half.
Vande Weghe was also impressive in net for Laurentian, making nine saves in the losing effort. The Ridgebacks had several chances late in regulation time to break the tie, including a Chris Jaggarnath (Scarborough, Ont.) header that rang off the crossbar.
Despite being well defended by Mackenzy Kropa all night, Campoli had a game-high nine shots, six of which were on target.
UOIT will now head to Ottawa for an OUA quarter-final match against Carleton on Sunday, Oct. 29. Kick off will be at 3:15 p.m. Carleton finished atop of the league table with a 13-1-2 record, including two victories (2-0, 1-0) over UOIT.
The Ridgebacks other playoff victory came against the Ravens in Ottawa in the opening round of the playoffs in 2014.
Tonight's match was UOIT's first-ever playoff game at home.
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 9-7-3
Conference Record: 8-5-3
Next Game: Sunday, Oct. 29 (3:15 p.m.) @ Carleton – Ottawa, Ont.
