CAPERS MEN FINISH 4TH IN CANADA!!!

GUELPH, Ont. (U Sports) – It may not have been the colour they sought but the University of Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team will leave their first CIS championship in 24 years with a medal. The top-seeded Gryphons, behind two goals from rookie midfielder Alexander Zis, won bronze on their home pitch with a 3-0 victory over the Cape Breton University Capers Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. 

Zis' second and third goals of the tournament lifted the OUA champions to a deserved medal. The Oakville, Ont., native, who scored eight times in his first season of university soccer, buried a free kick in the 29th minute. Zis struck again in the 51st when he tracked down a soft back-pass from a Cape Breton player and put it behind Ben Jackson, who had replaced starting goalkeeper Jamie Wilson for the second half. 

Guelph goalkeeper Ben Carinci kept a clean sheet with four stops, arguably his best coming in the 77th minute on a long, accurate free kick from First-Team All-Canadian Joel Eckert-Ayensa, as the Capers pressed for a goal. 

Chris Jacovou added a third goal for Guelph in the 86th minute. Senior Ethan Danielli, a late sub playing in his final match, struck the post with a hard shot and Jacovou banged home the rebound to the right of Jackson. 

Cape Breton, finalists in the 2012 championship, entered the tournament as the No.2 seed, after securing the AUS title. The Capers were aggressive in attack, showing the same passion they did in a semifinal loss to Alberta, in which they went down to 10 men. 

"The season has been good for these boys. We've had a lot of new faces, like 9 or 10 rookies, so to be AUS champions is a big achievement. Coming into this competition, we did think we had a shot." 

Guelph took a while to gain a foothold in the match but they got a big boost midway through the first half. Youssef Zaghloul had a low, hard shot saved by Wilson in the 28th minute. The ensuing scramble resulted in a Gryphons free kick just outside the 18-yard box and Zis was able to curl in a wonderful, right-footed shot just inside the left post, which froze Wilson. 

"The first half, we were still in the game," said Pritchard. "Obviously, we did not take our chances. They took theirs and got that free kick in." 

SCORING SUMMARY:

GUE: 1-2: 3
CBU:  0-0: 0

First Half
1 GUE Alex Zis (2), 28:37

Second Half
1. GUE Alex Zis (3), 50:36
2. GUE Chris Jacovou (1), 85:18

Goalkeepers:
GUE: Ben Caranci (W 0 GA, 4 saves, 90:00, 2-1)
CBU: Jamie Wilson (L 1 GA, 2 saves, 45:00, 1-2), Ben Jackson (2 GA, 2 saves, 45:00)

Team Stats
Shots: GUE 11, CBU 10
Shots on net: GUE 7, CBU 4
Corners: GUE 4, CBU 4
Offsides: GUE 0, CBU 5
Fouls: GUE 0, CBU 0
Yellow cards: None recorded
Red cards: None recorded

Players of the game:
GUE: Justin Springer
CBU: Joel Eckert-Ayensa