X-Men beat Ridgebacks 2-1 to finish in fifth place
No. 3 seeded X-Men defeat Nov. 4 seeded Ridgebacks 2-1 in U SPORTS consolation final to come home with fifth place finish
Oshawa, ON – The No. 3 seeded STFX X-Men defeated the Nov. 4 seeded Ontario Tech Ridgebacks 2-1 in the U SPORTS consolation final. With the win the X-Men come home with a fifth place finish at the at national championship event.
The X-Men made a statement early in the game, scoring only three minutes in on the host school and OUA champion Ridgebacks. Logan Rieck crossed a nice ball over to Kyle Cordeiro who delivered a pass in front of the net to Charlie Waters who tapped in it.
Rieck then had a shot on goal himself seven minutes later but was stopped by Ridgebacks goaltender Kevon Grant.
Ontario Tech's first solid scoring chance came in the 18th minute off a shot from Jack Spears but X netminder Sam Diltz made a diving save.
Diltz made another save seven minutes later off a shot from Erion Metaj as the Ridgebacks pressured for the equalizer.
The host team had another chance in the 30th minute but Alex Lewis' shot went high.
The X-Men held onto their 1-0 lead at halftime.
STFX doubled their lead in the 53rd minute off a goal from Kyle Cordeiro. After Camerson Shaw delivered a free kick into the 18-yard box, Damian DeDekker headed the ball towards Cordeiro who made no mistake.
Waters nearly tallied two minutes later but his shot went just high of the Ridgebacks net.
Sam Diltz was solid in the X net, coming up with consecutive saves 67 minutes in off shots from Jack Reid and Metaj.
Shaw – the STFX player of the game - continued his strong play for the X-Men, connecting with a shot in the 72nd minute but Grant was up for the save.
The Ridgebacks were pressuring late in the game as shots from Adam Kimek and Metaj went wide.
Freshman defender Luka Robichaud Allah came into the game for the X-Men with 10 minutes to play and he immediately set up a scoring chance with fellow defender Luke Green whose shot sailed just wide of the Ontario Tech net.
The Ridgebacks were unable to convert on their set pieces late in the game and the X-Men held onto the one goal victory.
STFX closes out the national championship tournament with a 2-1 record, having played three close, fiercely contested games in three days.
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Recap courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Atlhetics
