OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's soccer team failed to hold on to a 1-0 halftime lead as they played to a 1-1 draw against the Laurentian Voyageurs Saturday afternoon at the Oshawa Civic.
 
UOIT (4-4-3) sits tied for fifth place with the Queen's Gaels (4-5-3) but have a game in hand. Both teams trail Laurentian (5-5-1) and Ryerson (5-6-1) by one point for home field advantage in the playoffs.
 
Fabio Campoli (Frosinone, Italy) got the Ridgebacks on the board in the 24th minute as he powered past a defender and chipped the ball by the charging goalkeeper for his fifth goal of the season.
 
Coming out at halftime, the Voyageurs wasted no time to level the score as defender Liam Ezzard caught the Ridgebacks standing still as he charged into the box and tapped one in off a scramble.
 
The goaltenders stole the show for the rest of the game making a number of key saves to keep it deadlocked. Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) would end up with nine saves while his counterpart Connor Vande Weghe had 10. The teams combined for 23 shots in the second half.
 
The Civic had a playoff like atmosphere with both teams vying for three points. Things would get physical with the official issuing five yellow cards and 24 fouls being called.
 
UOIT will be back on the pitch on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. when they take on the Nipissing Lakers at the Oshawa Civic. The Ridgebacks will also have two more home games this week when they host the RMC Paladins (Wednesday) and Carleton Ravens (Saturday).
 
NOTE: The Ridgebacks would like to thank all of the fans who contributed to the #thinkpink campaign in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation and SickKids Foundation.
 
QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 4-6-3
Conference Record: 4-4-3
 
Next Game: Sunday, Oct. 8 vs. Nipissing (2:15 PM – Oshawa Civic)