Capers, Panthers play to thrilling 1-1 tie in AUS men’s soccer opener

Capers, Panthers play to thrilling 1-1 tie in AUS men's soccer opener 

By Corey LeBlanc 

SYDNEY, NS – On a dramatic last-second goal by Salem Farag (Charlottetown, PE), the visiting UPEI Panthers (0-0-1) secured a 1-1 tie with the U SPORTS #1-ranked Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (0-0-1) to open the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men's soccer regular season on Saturday afternoon at Ness Timmons Field.

Trailing in the final seconds of stoppage time, the Panthers lined up for a free kick from just inside Caper territory. UPEI goalkeeper Evan Couturier (Lower Coveradale, PE) initiated the set piece with his ball finding Farag alone in the box, after being deflected amongst the bevy of Capers and Panthers jockeying for position. When Farag got possession, he calmly put a right-footed shot inside the post on the short side behind CBU goalkeeper Daniel Clarke (Milton Keyes, England).

After the closing whistle moments later, the Panthers were elated, while the Capers were left shocked and dejected.

The six-time defending conference champion Capers came out strongly, boasting a line-up featuring several first-year student-athletes, putting immediate pressure on the Panthers and Couturier. 

CBU, who garnered two in the opening three minutes, collected more than a dozen corner-kick opportunities in the first half, but they came up empty; the pressure on the Panther 'D' not translating to production on the scoreboard.

The Capers dominated with an 18-1 edge in penalty kicks.  

Defensively, the Capers smothered the Panthers, an effort that led to scoring chances on the counter-attack, including one for Owen Sheppard (St. John's NL) in the seventh minute. After getting in behind the UPEI back line and corralling a lead pass, the forward ripped a hard strike into the top right-hand corner behind Couturier.

First-year midfielder Jakub Parizek (Ceske Budejovice, Czechia) came close to doubling the Caper edge, but Couturier lunged to his right to make a diving stop.

In the final minutes before halftime, off a CBU free-kick, first-year defender Andre Beecher (Brampton, ON) soared for a header, but it sailed just wide of the near goal post. 

At halftime, the Capers led 1-0.

Early in the second half, Panther forward Nathan Chow (Campbell River, BC) got free at the top of the box, but his shot sailed high and wide.

Sheppard – the Subway player of the game – almost tallied his second marker a short time later; he eluded a pair of UPEI opponents, but his left-footed strike glided wide behind Couturier.

In the 65^th minute, Samuel Akinsola (Charlottetown, PE) wrestled free of a Caper defender before testing Clarke with a low shot; the sophomore keeper dove to his left and smothered the ball.

The only other quality chance for the Panthers in the second half, before the last-second heroics, also came from Farag, but Clarke gobbled up his shot from distance.

It was a tale of two halves – of sorts – with the Panthers answering the bell, albeit without collecting many scoring opportunities, and grabbing the territorial advantage that the Capers enjoyed for the first half, one in which they could only score once.

Couturier finished with five saves, while Clarke collected three stops. 

Both teams will return to action Sunday, Sept. 11, with the Panthers travelling to Antigonish to face the STFX X-Men, while the Capers will welcome the Saint Mary's Huskies.

Kick-off for each match-up is 3:15 p.m. 

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