STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Alberta advances to U Sports soccer semifinals with 2-0 victory over York

Nov 10, 2016 | 1:00 PM

GUELPH, Ont. — Veteran defender Niko Saler scored twice as the third-seeded University of Alberta Golden Bears advanced to the U Sports men’s soccer semifinal on Thursday with a 2-0 victory over the defending national champion York University Lions.

Both goals were scored from dead-ball situations with the second coming in the 79th minute to ice the game for Alberta.

“It’s always a challenge,” Saler said. “We were excited to play them and I think they were excited to play us.”

The Golden Bears will meet the Cape Breton Capers on Saturday. Cape Breton earned a spot in the semifinal after edging the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 1-0 in double overtime.

Saler gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute from a stunning set piece. Alberta was awarded a free kick at the right corner of the 18-yard box and Saler, a fifth-year graduate student from Lethbridge, Alta., curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the net past sprawling keeper Daniel Gosciniak.

Saler put in his second of the match on another left-footed free kick that found its way through a sea of players and in behind Gosciniak in the 79th.

The Lions had a chance in the 65th but a header off of a corner sailed over goalkeeper Connor James’ net. Moments after that, James just got his hand on a curling effort from in close.

“I question the two calls that they got for free kicks, for sure,” said York coach Carmine Isacco. “But that’s not it. It’s our inability to score. We created chances. We did the hard stuff, we just didn’t finish.”

The other Saturday semifinal will see the UQAM Citadins against the host Guelph Gryphons.

Simon-Pierre Kougnima scored the winner in the 103rd minute as the Citadins got by the UBC Thunderbirds 3-2.

In the day’s final quarter-final match, Owen Botelho, Jalen Noronha, Jace Kotsopoulos, Tomasz Skublak and Chris Jacovou all scored as the Gryphons beat the Acadia Axemen 5-3 in penalty kicks.

Kotsopoulos and Alex Zis scored in regular time for Guelph and Travis Fenning and Cooper Coats each had a goal for the Axemen as the match stayed 2-2 until the shootout round.

 

The Canadian Press