KINGSTON, Ont. (October 24, 2015)- The Queen's Gaels men's soccer team fought off both the weather and a stingy Nipissing team on Saturday afternoon at Miklas-McCarney Field, defeating the Lakers 2-0, solidifying their playoff position in the process.
 
The victory means that Queen's (9-2-4) secures third-place in the tough OUA East division, as they are unable to catch either Ryerson or Toronto but have a four-point spread on fourth-place Carleton with only one game remaining in the regular season. The Gaels will, thus, host a divisional playoff next week against the number six seed in the East to begin their post-season journey.
 
GAME FLOW
On a windy, wet Saturday in Kingston, the Gaels controlled the majority of play throughout the match, but came up against a defensive-minded Lakers squad that gave up the majority of possession but clogged the dangerous areas of the field, making it difficult for Queen's to consistently produce open scoring chances. When the Gaels did break through, they were turned away by the Lakers post in the opening 45 minutes.
 
Brevin McKay (Ottawa) had his deflection swing just wide of the Nipissing uprights, while Greg Simmons had his attempt ring off the post. Lakers goalkeeper Nico Circullo then extended enough to get his fingertips on a header by Brian Jimenez-Lopez (Brampton, Ont.), and pushed the ball just enough to deflect off the post and away from danger.
 
After being held off the scoresheet nearly 60 minutes, Simmons was taken down in front of the Lakers goalmouth, prompting the referee to award a penalty kick to the Gaels. Mississauga, Ont. native Rohan Sarna made no mistake, launching the ball into the top right side of the net to break open the match.
 
The soccer gods seemed to award Simmons for his numerous chances and for setting up the game-winning goal for Sarna, as the Whitby, Ont. native's long-range shot from about 40 yards out eluded Circullo and slipped through the Laker keeper's hands into the back of the net, clinching the match for Queen's.
 
FINAL SAY
"We knew it was going to be tough, Nipissing is a team that just keeps getting better as the season wears on," said Head Coach Christian Hoefler. "They kept all 11 of their players behind the ball and made it really tough for us to break through. We did get a lot of opportunities sin the first half, so we allowed that to fuel us into second where we were then able to put a couple away."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Rohan Sarna scored his first goal of the season against Nipissing
5 – The number of shots fired towards Nipissing keeper Nico Circullo
3rd – Queen's earned third-place in the OUA East division with the victory on Saturday
2 - Yellow cards issued to the Lakers

UP NEXT
The Gaels wrap up the regular season against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is set for 2:15 p.m. at Miklas-McCarney Field.