November 13, 2021
Banner Season: Gryphons fend of furious Lions' attack late to claim program's third championship
Guelph, Ont. - It has been a dream 2021 season for the Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team. On Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium at the University of Guelph, the Gryphons put an exclamation mark on what has been an unforgettable run.
The No. 3-nationally ranked Gryphons capped off an undefeated OUA season with a thrilling 3-2 win over the No. 2-nationally ranked York Lions in the conference championship final. The Gryphons built up a 3-0 lead, and held off a furious push by the Lions late in the game to secure the program's third OUA title in school history, and first since 2016. The game was played in front of 1,160 fans in what was the first OUA men's soccer championship game played on the University of Guelph's campus since 1990. With the win, the Gryphons secure a spot at the 2021 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships in Ottawa next week.
"We did what we have done all year," Gryphons head coach Keith Mason said. "We defended, we were solid, fought for every inch of the grass, and it was brilliant. In the last 10 minutes, they threw everything at us. They had so many forwards come on after their changes and they started getting more bodies forward, which led to the one goal. Then a great free-kick, what can you do. For 80-minutes though, that was us all over it. Solid defence and we scored when we got our chances. I thought the boys were brilliant."
Although at the time, the goal looked to be more of an insurance marker than anything else, it was ultimately Damian Truong's 77th minute tally that went down in the books as the match-winner. After tearing his MCL in the pre-season, the Winnipeg, MB product worked his way back on to the pitch late in the season before earning his shining moment on Saturday.
"It was hard to stay motivated sometimes," Truong said of his rehab. "I stuck to it, trusted the process and in a way, I feel that I was rewarded for all of the hard work, and I'm glad we could benefit as a team."
Fresh off the bench in the 63rd minute with is team leading 2-0, Truong made his impact known rather quickly when he charged into the box just over ten minutes later.
"I forget who crossed the ball to me to be honest, it's all just a blur right now," Truong said. "I just remember the ball coming in, my eyes lit up, it was right in front of me. I got a little nick to it, the goalie dropped it and it just laid for me at the top of the six-yard box. Easiest goal of my life."
Prior to that, the Gryphons had executed their game plan almost flawlessly against a top-class York side in order to build up their 2-0 advantage.
The championship match was only 22 minutes old when Guelph found themselves as the fortunate side of the game's first key moment. Trying to cross a ball into the box, Owen McKee instead wound up ripping it off of York's Milo Djuricic, with the deflection then taking the ball into the back of the net, giving Guelph the early 1-0 advantage.
Holding that lead at the half, it did not take long for the Gryphons to get a chance to double it early in the second. Chasing a ball down and keeping it alive just before the York goal line, Owen McKee, the lone goal scorer in the semi-finals against Carleton, was then taken down in the box by Djuricic. The referee quickly blew his whistle, pointed to the spot, and awarded the Gryphons a penalty kick. Calmly stepping up to take it, Lucas Doros, who was just named the 2021 OUA West Player of the Year, converted the penalty with ease doubling the Guelph lead.
"I always hit it left," Doros said. "I assumed that is what they told their goalie, though, so I just decided to hit it right."
With York keeper, George Tzimas guessing the wrong direction, Doros had nothing but open net to his right, in which he promptly deposited the ball in to.
However, just when everything was seeming to be coming up Gryphons after Truong's goal made it 3-0, the Lions began to mount their comeback and show exactly what makes their program so strong year in and year out.
It wasn't even three minutes after Truong's goal when the Lions began to roar. With his team's back against the wall and time running out, 2021 OUA leading scorer, Merci Yuma began to take over. Breaking down the left side of the pitch, the 2021 OUA East Division Player of the Year slid the ball past Gryphon's keeper Svyatoslav Artemeko with a well-placed shot from a sharp angle.
Still with a big hill to climb, that did not stop Yuma from trying to reach the peak. As time started to become a major factor with the two teams playing into stoppage time, Yuma quickly made the game very interesting. Playing in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, York was awarded a free-kick from 28-yards away. Yuma took a slight run up to the ball and then launched a strike past Artemeko, into the back of goal. Just like that, the visitors suddenly had pulled within one in the dying moments.
In the final moments, York would get one final chance to equalize, and again the ball was on Yuma's boot. Receiving a wonderful pass just outside of the 18-yard box, Yuma was clear of every Gryphon's player except one. Artemenko, the last Gryphon between Yuma and a tie game, charged out to the top of the box, laid his body out for the ball and was able to win it away from the dangerous York striker.
"It was a bit nerve-wracking knowing how good (Yuma) is," Artemenko said. "Composure was key for me there though so I just tried to keep my head and do what I'm supposed to do as a keeper and keep the ball out."
Much like after he denied the late Carleton penalty kick in the semi's sending the Gryphs into a glorious celebration, the party once again began just moments after Artemenko's crucial play. Shortly after the ball was cleared, the referee whistled full time, sending the Gryphons, their coaches and their fans into a championship euphoria.
"The crowd was sensational," Mason said. "I can't say enough about how good they were."
"We had a great crowd, that atmosphere was fantastic, and I'm so glad that we were able to bring home the gold for these fans."
One of the two active players that remain from the 2016 championship team, midfielder Alex Zis, a fifth-year senior, was thrilled to know that his Gryphon's career was not finished quite yet.
"It's an amazing feeling," Zis said. "There were a lot of butterflies coming into the game not knowing if I'd be playing anymore games with Guelph but I'm happy to keep going. The team pulled through. I'm so happy for them and I'm so happy to be playing with them at nationals and I hope we can bring a gold home."
With the 2021 U SPORTS Championship scheduled to get underway on Thursday in Ottawa (hosted by Carleton), the Gryphons will head to the nation's capital with their eyes on an even bigger prize.
"Winning the OUA is a major accomplishment," Doros said. "We want more than that though. We want to do what no Guelph team has done before and that is win at nationals."
The No. 3-nationally ranked Gryphons capped off an undefeated OUA season with a thrilling 3-2 win over the No. 2-nationally ranked York Lions in the conference championship final. The Gryphons built up a 3-0 lead, and held off a furious push by the Lions late in the game to secure the program's third OUA title in school history, and first since 2016. The game was played in front of 1,160 fans in what was the first OUA men's soccer championship game played on the University of Guelph's campus since 1990. With the win, the Gryphons secure a spot at the 2021 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championships in Ottawa next week.
"We did what we have done all year," Gryphons head coach Keith Mason said. "We defended, we were solid, fought for every inch of the grass, and it was brilliant. In the last 10 minutes, they threw everything at us. They had so many forwards come on after their changes and they started getting more bodies forward, which led to the one goal. Then a great free-kick, what can you do. For 80-minutes though, that was us all over it. Solid defence and we scored when we got our chances. I thought the boys were brilliant."
Although at the time, the goal looked to be more of an insurance marker than anything else, it was ultimately Damian Truong's 77th minute tally that went down in the books as the match-winner. After tearing his MCL in the pre-season, the Winnipeg, MB product worked his way back on to the pitch late in the season before earning his shining moment on Saturday.
"It was hard to stay motivated sometimes," Truong said of his rehab. "I stuck to it, trusted the process and in a way, I feel that I was rewarded for all of the hard work, and I'm glad we could benefit as a team."
Fresh off the bench in the 63rd minute with is team leading 2-0, Truong made his impact known rather quickly when he charged into the box just over ten minutes later.
"I forget who crossed the ball to me to be honest, it's all just a blur right now," Truong said. "I just remember the ball coming in, my eyes lit up, it was right in front of me. I got a little nick to it, the goalie dropped it and it just laid for me at the top of the six-yard box. Easiest goal of my life."
Prior to that, the Gryphons had executed their game plan almost flawlessly against a top-class York side in order to build up their 2-0 advantage.
The championship match was only 22 minutes old when Guelph found themselves as the fortunate side of the game's first key moment. Trying to cross a ball into the box, Owen McKee instead wound up ripping it off of York's Milo Djuricic, with the deflection then taking the ball into the back of the net, giving Guelph the early 1-0 advantage.
Holding that lead at the half, it did not take long for the Gryphons to get a chance to double it early in the second. Chasing a ball down and keeping it alive just before the York goal line, Owen McKee, the lone goal scorer in the semi-finals against Carleton, was then taken down in the box by Djuricic. The referee quickly blew his whistle, pointed to the spot, and awarded the Gryphons a penalty kick. Calmly stepping up to take it, Lucas Doros, who was just named the 2021 OUA West Player of the Year, converted the penalty with ease doubling the Guelph lead.
"I always hit it left," Doros said. "I assumed that is what they told their goalie, though, so I just decided to hit it right."
With York keeper, George Tzimas guessing the wrong direction, Doros had nothing but open net to his right, in which he promptly deposited the ball in to.
However, just when everything was seeming to be coming up Gryphons after Truong's goal made it 3-0, the Lions began to mount their comeback and show exactly what makes their program so strong year in and year out.
It wasn't even three minutes after Truong's goal when the Lions began to roar. With his team's back against the wall and time running out, 2021 OUA leading scorer, Merci Yuma began to take over. Breaking down the left side of the pitch, the 2021 OUA East Division Player of the Year slid the ball past Gryphon's keeper Svyatoslav Artemeko with a well-placed shot from a sharp angle.
Still with a big hill to climb, that did not stop Yuma from trying to reach the peak. As time started to become a major factor with the two teams playing into stoppage time, Yuma quickly made the game very interesting. Playing in the 2nd minute of stoppage time, York was awarded a free-kick from 28-yards away. Yuma took a slight run up to the ball and then launched a strike past Artemeko, into the back of goal. Just like that, the visitors suddenly had pulled within one in the dying moments.
In the final moments, York would get one final chance to equalize, and again the ball was on Yuma's boot. Receiving a wonderful pass just outside of the 18-yard box, Yuma was clear of every Gryphon's player except one. Artemenko, the last Gryphon between Yuma and a tie game, charged out to the top of the box, laid his body out for the ball and was able to win it away from the dangerous York striker.
"It was a bit nerve-wracking knowing how good (Yuma) is," Artemenko said. "Composure was key for me there though so I just tried to keep my head and do what I'm supposed to do as a keeper and keep the ball out."
Much like after he denied the late Carleton penalty kick in the semi's sending the Gryphs into a glorious celebration, the party once again began just moments after Artemenko's crucial play. Shortly after the ball was cleared, the referee whistled full time, sending the Gryphons, their coaches and their fans into a championship euphoria.
"The crowd was sensational," Mason said. "I can't say enough about how good they were."
"We had a great crowd, that atmosphere was fantastic, and I'm so glad that we were able to bring home the gold for these fans."
One of the two active players that remain from the 2016 championship team, midfielder Alex Zis, a fifth-year senior, was thrilled to know that his Gryphon's career was not finished quite yet.
"It's an amazing feeling," Zis said. "There were a lot of butterflies coming into the game not knowing if I'd be playing anymore games with Guelph but I'm happy to keep going. The team pulled through. I'm so happy for them and I'm so happy to be playing with them at nationals and I hope we can bring a gold home."
With the 2021 U SPORTS Championship scheduled to get underway on Thursday in Ottawa (hosted by Carleton), the Gryphons will head to the nation's capital with their eyes on an even bigger prize.
"Winning the OUA is a major accomplishment," Doros said. "We want more than that though. We want to do what no Guelph team has done before and that is win at nationals."
