The No. 6 Varsity Blues men’s soccer team scored two goals in the last five minutes to overcome a 1-0 deficit and defeat the Queen’s Gaels 2-1 in OUA quarter-final action on Saturday, October 30 at Varsity Centre.

With the win, the Blues advance to the OUA Final Four next weekend (Nov. 6-7) hosted by the York Lions. Toronto will face the Western Mustangs in the semi-final round on Saturday. Game time TBD.

Down 1-0 in the 85th minute of play, Blues leading scorer Alex Raphael of East York, Ont., sent a cross to fellow fifth-year striker Nordo Gooden in front of the net. The Kingston, Jamaica native showed great poise, deking around a Queen’s defender and goalkeeper Maxfield Materne (Toronto) in the six-yard box to find the back of the net and even the score.

Five minutes later, a penalty kick was awarded to Toronto after a handball inside the 18-yard box. Raphael stepped up and made no mistake, sending a booming shot into the bottom left corner of the net to secure the 2-1 victory.

After numerous chances by both teams, first-year Queen’s defender Joseph Zupo of Toronto opened the scoring when he headed the ball through a huge scramble in front of the Blues net in the 33rd minute.

Materne came up with some huge saves throughout the second half, totalling five on the day. Similarly, Blues goalkeeper John Smits was very active in the net. The Mississauga, Ont., native stopped Michael Arnold’s (London, Ont.) breakaway attempt to keep the game within reach for the Blues in the 84th minute.

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