SENECA ADVANCES TO BRONZE MEDAL MATCH AT MEN'S SOCCER NATIONALS

COQUITLAM, B.C. - The wildcard Seneca Sting beat the NAIT Ooks of ACAC in a close 2-1 game to secure a spot in the bronze match Saturday at the 2012 CCAA Men's Soccer National Championship.

Players of the game were midfielder Zach Kaiser for NAIT and midfielder Jorge Perez for Seneca.

Scorers were Kaiser for NAIT, and Perez and Malvin Francis for Seneca.

NAIT led 1-0 at the end of the first half. Kaiser lobbed in a ball from the short left side just minutes into the game, catching an opposition that had barely warmed up.

Seneca seemed low on energy after a fierce battle yesterday against Humber. A tight NAIT team pressured Seneca's net, getting several chances to cement their lead. NAIT's Allan Zebie was a force in the midfield, running the ball up the right side. Seneca forced some nice turn-arounds near the end of the half. Just before the whistle, Seneca goalie Andrew Cairns ran out for an impressive save near the top of the penalty box.

Minutes into the second half, Perez headed a popcorning ball over NAIT's keeper to tie the match. Twenty minutes in, Perez charged down the right side and made a hard cross in front of NAIT's net, which Francis finished. It seemed the team had found their feet.

A hard scramble in front of Seneca's net saw a couple more great saves by Cairns, an injured Perez who was substituted, and a yellow card for NAIT. NAIT pressed hard in the last moments but couldn't catch up. A last minute header shot was hotly contested by NAIT as a goal to no avail.

The bronze medal match will take place Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Championship Website: www.ccaa.ca/menssoccer2012

Source: Douglas College with files from OCAA Communications