Photo by Valerie Wutti
OTTAWA – After falling behind the CanadaWest champion UBC Thunderbirds, the Carleton Ravens rallied back in the second half with two goals in under seven minutes to force extra time. After Kyle Potter (Ottawa, Ont.) would make a key save, Tareq Hamad (Dhahran, KSA) would step to the spot and complete the comeback with the brace giving the Ravens the win on penalty kicks.
After Carleton’s Gabriel Bitar (Ottawa, Ont.) fired a shot high into the left corner keeper Kyle Potter would make a heroic save, diving to his right while striking the challenge above the bar with his left hand. All told, it was a fitting cap to a Carleton comeback that started with the Ravens putting immense pressure on the Thunderbirds after falling behind early.
First-half goals from Nick Fussell and Nicholas Momotani only 11 minutes apart put the Ravens in a whole less only a quarter of the way into the match.
As he’s done throughout his career, the former first overall CPL pick, Gabriel Bitar would break through in the 60th minute scoring the Ravens first and sending a packed Perch into a frenzy. Only 7 minutes later Tareq Hamad would direct home a header to give into the bottom corner beating Bennett McKay to tie the game.
As the Ravens continued to press McKay was phenomenal in goal for UBC, making a number of key saves as the game rolled into overtime. As the fans at the Ravens’ Perch were treated to their second set of penalty kicks on the day, they’d be sent home happy, after the teams exchanged three goals the Potter save would prove to be enough for the Ravens.
With the win, Carleton advances to face the Cape Breton Capers on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. on the Ravens’ Perch.
