By University of Toronto sports information / Photo credit Toronto Athletics
 
TORONTO (CIS) - Rookie striker Elvir Gigolaj scored in the 86th minute to lead the AUS champion Saint Mary’s Huskies to a 1-0 victory over the Alberta Golden Bears in the second quarter-final of the 2010 CIS men’s soccer championship at Varsity Centre, Thursday afternoon.
 
The Huskies, who are in search of their first national title in school history, advance to the first championship semifinal on Saturday at 11 a.m.  They will meet the York Lions, who upset the defending champion Laval Rouge et Or in the first quarter-final of the day.
 
Alberta moves to the consolation side of the draw and will face Laval on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
 
After an exciting contest in which both teams produced quality scoring chances, Gigolaj of London, Ont., was finally able to break the scoreless draw by skilfully lobbing the ball over Golden Bears keeper and Edmonton native Jaswinder Gill from the top of the penalty box. 
 
“This is the happiest moment of my life right now,” said an elated Gigolaj after the match. “I saw the ball go over the defenders head and just had to maintain cool and finish and then the rush of excitement went through me.”
 
The first half was a physical affair, as both sides looked to assert themselves on the pitch.  The Golden Bears committed eight fouls in the opening period, while Saint Mary’s was called for four.
 
The Huskies, who are four-time finalists in their 12 appearances at the national tournament, found some momentum later in the half, as Jhonattan Corboda used his speed to make a strong run down the right side.  The Halifax native spun away from the Alberta defender and sent a high shot that soared just over the cross bar. 
 
Corboda continued to find speed down the sideline, forcing Zenon Markevych (Edmonton, Alta.) to take him down with an elbow.  Markevych was quickly booked by the referee, who went on to issue two more yellow cards in the half. 
 
Alberta continued to defend against the Saint Mary’s attack, which became more dangerous as the half-time whistle approached.  Just before the break, Bermuda, N.S., native Ian Coke zipped past the defence and sent the ball across to third-year midfielder David Inglis, who put the ball within inches of the right post. 
 
Alberta finally created some offence in the opening minutes of the second half, as fourth-year striker and Calgary native Brett Colvin sent a free kick inches over the net.  That seemed to wake up Saint Mary’s, as Gigolaj nearly put them up with a hard shot.  Fortunately for Alberta, Gill made a difficult save to keep the game tied.   
 
Although Saint Mary’s held the momentum, Alberta did create a couple of chances to keep the Huskies honest.   A header by Ignacy Broda in the 75th minute sailed wide, and Edmonton native Samuel Lam produced the best chance for his team moments later.  Huskies keeper Adam Miller made an excellent diving save to prevent Lam’s shot from finding the right corner of the goal.
 
Although Alberta pressed for the equalizer over the final moments, they would run out of clock as the referee blew the final whistle.
 
“This is a big win for us,” said Huskies head coach Stewart Galloway.  “We beat a good team and that’s what we’re here for. We have a young group of players but they played very well.”
 
SCORING SUMMARY
 
SMU: 0-1:1
ALB: 0-0:0 
 
First Half
(no scoring)
 
Second Half
3. SMU Elvir Gigolaj (1), 86th  
 
Goalkeepers:
SMU: Adam Miller (W, 0 GA, 4 saves, 90:00 mins)
ALB: Jaswinder Gill (L, 1 GA, 3 saves, 90:00 mins)
 
Shots: SMU 13, ALB 5
Shots on Net: SMU 4, ALB 4
Corners: SMU 6, ALB 3
Offsides: SMU 1, ALB 0
Fouls: SMU 14, ALB 11
Yellow Cards: SMU (Shawn Kodejs, Elvir Gigolaj), ALB (Zenon Markevych, Marcus Johnstone)
Red Cards: none
 
Players of the game:
SMU: Elvir Gigolaj
ALB: Samuel Lam 
 
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
 
Thursday, Nov. 11
11:00 Quarterfinal 1: York 3, Laval 2 (4-2 PK)
13:30 Quarterfinal 2: Saint Mary’s 1, Alberta 0
16:00 Quarterfinal 3: UBC vs. Western (SSN Canada webcast)
18:30 Quarterfinal 4: Toronto vs. UQAM (SSN Canada webcast)

Friday, Nov. 12
13:30 Consolation 1: Laval vs. Alberta (SSN Canada webcast)
16:00 Consolation 2: Loser QF 3 vs. Loser QF 4 (SSN Canada webcast)

Saturday, Nov. 13
11:00 Semi-final 1: York vs. Saint Mary’s (SSN Canada webcast)
14:00 Semi-final 2: Winner QF 3 vs. Winner QF 4 (SSN Canada webcast)
16:30 Consolation final (SSN Canada webcast)

Sunday, Nov. 14
13:00 Bronze medal (SSN Canada webcast)
16:00 Championship final (SSN Canada webcast)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
 
 
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