GUELPH, Ont. – The defending OUA champion Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team is moving on to the conference quarterfinals thanks to a thrilling win, 5-4 on penalties, over the Brock Badgers on Wednesday night (Oct. 26) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. In a match that ended just shy of midnight, the Gryphons outlasted the Badgers in a captivating opening round matchup in the 2022 OUA men's soccer playoffs. The two teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes, and 2-2 after extra time, meaning penalties were needed to decide a winner. During the penalty shootout, both teams were a perfect 4-for-4 from the spot through the first four rounds. But in the 5th round, Gryphon goalkeeper
Leighton Jull provided the heroics, diving to his right to deny Brock's Luca Ragagnin. That meant the game was on the foot of Guelph's fifth shooter,
Jack Sears. Last season,
Jack Sears played a key role in Guelph's OUA title run, including successfully converting from the penalty spot at the Gryphon Soccer Complex
during Guelph's 2021 OUA quarterfinal win over Ontario Tech. New season, same composure from
Jack Sears, who
calmly slotted home the match-winning penalty in the 5th round to, this time, send the Gryphons through to the 2022 OUA quarterfinals.
The Gryphons trailed 1-0 early in the match, but a beautiful ball delivered off a set-piece off the foot of
Colin Gander would be headed home by first-year forward,
Leo Shrimpton, in the 54th minute leveled the match at 1-1. In the first half of extra time, the Gryphons took the lead thanks to rookie midfielder,
John Greenhough, but a late equalizer from Brock's Michael Solomon in the 117th minute meant penalties were required.
Gray Yates,
Juliano Campedelli,
Colin Gander and
Owen McKee all converted from the penalty spot for the Gryphons prior to the match-winner from
Jack Sears in the 5th round. With the win, the Gryphons advance to the 2022 OUA quarterfinals, and will now head to Hamilton on Saturday (Oct. 29) for a 1pm matchup with the McMaster Marauders.
