MONTREAL – They made a game of it in the second half and came oh-so-close to a tying goal, but the University of Calgary Dinos fell 4-1 to the Atlantic champion Cape Breton Capers Thursday afternoon in their opener at the 2019 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship presented by La Cage – Brasserie sportive in Montreal.
Second-year CBU forward Charlie Waters struck for a trio of goals and added an assist for the Capers, who move on to face the host Montreal Carabins in the semifinal round Friday. Calgary will face York in a consolation semifinal Friday at 10:30 a.m. MT (12:30 p.m. local).
Cory Bent scored the other tally for the Capers, while
Decklin Mahmi responded in a losing cause for Calgary. Dinos keeper
Jake Ruschkowski made eight saves between the pipes and got a hand on the penalty kick that was the eventually the winning goal off of the foot of Waters.
"It's a 50-50 change on a penalty, and I guessed the right way and got a hand on it," said Ruschkowski. "I was in the middle of the net and dove to the side…but I couldn't get quite force it out."
That goal made it 2-0 after the Capers took a 1-0 lead into the half. But moments later, the Dinos responded with Mahmi's tally to make it 2-1. With Calgary opening up play in search of the equalizer, they came tantalizingly close as captain
Cristiano De Carvalho rang a shot off the crossbar and the post in the 59th minute.
From there, the Capers took advantage of the space and Waters struck twice more to give the Capers an insurmountable advantage.
Named a second team All-Canadian Wednesday, Ruschkowski spectacular again, earning Nike Top Performers honours.
"The turning point was the penalty," said Dinos Head Coach
Brendan O'Connell. "I'm proud of the players and what they've achieved, I really couldn't have asked any more from them. They didn't look out of place.
"They're a great group of boys, they have a never-say-die attitude, and great character. It was their character that got them here."
Nike Top Performers
Calgary:
Jake Ruschkowski
Cape Breton: Cory Bent
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