ACAC Championship Final Recap:
October 30, 2022- It took extra time to get it done, but the SAIT Trojans have repeated as Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men's Soccer Champions, beating the NAIT Ooks 3-1 in a rematch of last year's gold medal game under the lights Sunday night in Raymond, Alta.
The game-winning goal, courtesy of Trojans midfielder Nicolas Gonzalez (fifth year, Geomatics Engineering Technology, Calgary, Alta.) was his second of the match – scored just 11 minutes into extra time. SAIT forward Brock Mitchell (first year, Open Studies, Calgary, Alta.) widened the lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 105th minute. He was assisted by striker Kwasi Oteng (second year, Business Administration, Calgary, Alta.).
Gonzalez also took home Player of the Game honours for his efforts. "We never gave up," he says. "We always had that belief that we could come back in this game and win it."
NAIT took the early lead in the game with an opening goal by midfielder Pedro Humberto Mourao Neto (fourth year, Personal Fitness Trainer, Fortaleza, Ceara) as he beat Trojans keeper Marko Ilich (third year, Open Studies, Calgary, Alta.) to put the Ooks up 1-nil. Neto was assisted by Cristian Lima (fourth year, Electrical Engineering Technology, Carapicuiba, Sao Paulo). Both midfielders were awarded North Division All Conference Team honours earlier in the week.
The rivalry and physicality heated up as the half progressed with four yellow cards handed out – to NAIT midfielder Peter Jones (first year, Open Studies, Edmonton, Alta.) at the 26thminute, NAIT forward Ayomidimeji Ayolade (second year, Open Studies, Verona Veneto) and SAIT midfielder Soliman Aria (second year, Open Studies, Calgary, Alta.) in the 42ndminute, and SAIT defender Stanley Sinaga (first year, Open Studies, Calgary, Alta.) in first half stoppage time.
An early second half push by SAIT led to the equalizer as Gonzalez found the back of the net, unassisted, in the 56th minute.
A missed chance for the Ooks to regain the lead came in the 68th minute, as midfielder Rodane Cato (second year, Chemical Engineering Technology, Hellshire, St. Catherine), had Ilich beat, but his shot sailed just wide of the left goalpost.
On the other end of the pitch, a diving save by NAIT goalie Ryan Gillie (fifth year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Edmonton, Alta.) in the 75th minute kept the Trojans from taking the lead late in the game. The teams headed to extra time tied 1-1.
Yellow cards in the second half went to SAIT's Jacob Hunter (second year, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Calgary, Alta.) in the 46th minute, NAIT midfielder Dukuly Gausu (first year, Open Studies, Edmonton, Alta.) in the 65th minute, SAIT midfielder Tysen Chatani (fourth year, Business Administration, Calgary, Alta.) in the 78th minute, and NAIT's Elijah Bossio (second year, Bachelor of Business Administration, Edmonton, Alta.) in the 80th minute.
"Nothing's easy and it's not good enough to play this game with each other, you've got to play it for one another," says Trojans head coach Connor Brady. "When mistakes are made, you've got to be willing to work double for your teammates and this group did that in spades today, over and over and over again. They had each other's backs, they didn't quit."
NAIT's Cato was named Player of the Game for the Ooks.
The SAIT Trojans move on to represent Alberta at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men's Soccer Championship Nov. 9 to 12 at Langara College in Langley, BC.
The 2022 ACAC Soccer Championships, presented by the Southern Alberta Homes Team at Royal Lepage South Country, have been hosted by Lethbridge College at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta. All tournament information can be found online. Additional photos from this game can be found on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Flickr page.
Semi-finals Recap:
Oct.29, 2022 — Penalities took a toll on the NAIT Ooks, who still managed a 3-2 victory over the Keyano College Huskies to advance to the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference (ACAC) men's soccer gold medal match Sunday at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta.
The Ooks lost defenceman Javier Cassie (fourth year, open studies, Edmonton) to a red card in the dying minutes of the first half. They were left even more shorthanded after a second yellow card was assessed to defenceman Julio Umali (second year, Open Studies, Edmonton) in the 88th minute.
That leaves NAIT without both players for the final.
"So you know these are the opportunities and the moments for your players to step up because you've got some senior guys unavailable in the final," said Ooks head coach Jeff Paulus. "So the younger players get a chance to come in and help us win a championship."
That left NAIT down to nine players but with a two-goal cushion. A free kick following the Umali foul sailed wide left on a wind-whipped field.
The Ooks didn't waiver from their aggressive style despite yellow cards and they led from start to finish.
The Huskies got close in stoppage time on a goal by Huskies defenceman James Bartha (first-year, Business Administration, Chilliwack, B.C.) cutting NAIT's lead to 3-2.
Both teams had solid chances through the first half.
The first yellow card of the game was assessed in the 17th minute on Huskies forward Hafid Huaman Arellano (first year, Business Administration, Lima, Peru).
NAIT scored first at the 23-minute mark on a penalty shot by forward Matthew Zima (fifth year, Open Studies, Verona, Italy). The Ooks added to their lead in the 35th minute with Zima getting an assist on midfielder Cristian Lima (fourth year, Electrical Engineering Technology, Edmonton) boot. Lima was named the Ook's Player of the Game.
A yellow card to NAIT's Rodolfo Aguilar-Longo midfielder (third year Bachoelor of Business Administatoin Edmonton) in the 27th minute led to a free kick that soared over the goal.
At the 45th minute, a massive collision between Huskies forward Muhammed Jobe (first year, College Preparation, Barra, Gambia) resulted in the red card to Cassie.
Keyano's first goal of the game followed nearly immediately after the collision in stoppage time before the half. Huskies forward Hafid Huaman Arellano (first year Business Administration, Lima, Peru) scored with an assist from Cleesion Anklam (second year, Bsuiness Administration, Pirapo, Brazil) made it 2-1. Anklam was the Huskies Player of the Game.
NAIT, short handed, still managed to keep the pressure on though one result was a yellow card to Peter Jones in the 56th minute. The Huskies couldn't capitalize.
NAIT received another yellow card in the 73rd minute to Umali. The Huskies thought they narrowed the gap but a goal was called back for an offside.
Umali got his second yellow card and left the game in the 88th minute. Down to nine players but up 3-1. The free kick by the Huskies sailed wide left.
Huskies defenceman James Bartha (first-year, Business Administration, Chilliwack, B.C.) scored for the Huskies in the 90th minute cutting NAIT's lead to 3-2 but the clock ran out on Keyano's comeback.
The Ooks now move on to the final at 5:30 p.m. Sunday. They await the winner of tonight's 5:30 p.m. game as The Kings University Eagles take on the SAIT Trojans. The loser of that game will face the Huskies in the hunt for bronze.
The 2022 ACAC Soccer Championships, presented by the Southern Alberta Homes Team at Royal Lepage South Country, are hosted by Lethbridge College at Comet Stadium in Raymond, Alta. All tournament information can be found online. Additional photos from this game can be found on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Flickr page.
Championship Preview:
The NAIT Ooks men's soccer team takes the field in the ACAC Championships this weekend. This season three teams from the north and three from the south will battle it out in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Here's how it'll work: The second-place team in each division will face off against the third-place team in the opposite division for a quarterfinal battle. The winner of the quarterfinals will go on to play the first-place team of the opposite division in the semi-finals. The two losing semi-finalists will play for bronze on Sunday morning. Finally, the two semi-final winners will face off on Sunday afternoon in the gold medal game. The winner of the ACAC Championship will earn their spot in the CCAA National Tournament at Langara College in Langley, BC, from November 9th-12th.
The NAIT Ooks finished first in the north, which gives them a bye in the quarterfinals. Their first game will be the semi-finals on Saturday.
"The coaching staff and I are delighted with where the team is at. We are heading into the championships quite healthy, and the team is currently playing good football. Of course, I have experienced firsthand the difficulties of winning in the ACAC, and with that, we have managed our highs and have set a goal of improving every game we play. We expect to see the best version of ourselves on Saturday," said Head Coach Jeff Paulus.
The team had an award-winning season, with Matt Zima setting a new ACAC men's all-time scoring soccer record, Rodane Cato being named ACAC Men's Soccer North Player of The Year, and Jeff Paulus being named ACAC Men's Soccer North Coach of The Year. The NAIT Ooks finished the season with the most points in the league, with 164. The team also had five members named to the ACAC All-Conference team. Forward Matt Zima, forward Cristian Lima, midfield Rodane Cato, midfield Pedro Neto, and defender Javier Cassie.
"The team's performances have been very good. Along with that has also been some incredible individual performances and achievements," said Paulus.
NAIT will take on the winner of the first men's soccer quarterfinal between the Keyano Huskies and the RDP Kings in the semi-finals on Saturday, October 29th, at 12:30 PM. You can catch the games on acactv.ca. For more Championship information, click here.