Mac finishes sixth at CIS tourney

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

For 119 minutes, the Marauders had held off the lauded attack of the Cape Breton Capers and kept their hopes of national hardware alive. In one cruel, final twist of fate those aspirations came crashing to a halt.

With only seconds remaining before the two teams moved on to penalty kicks to settle the result of their CIS quarterfinal on Nov. 10, the Capers found the back of the Marauder net with a driven effort from the edge of the 18-yard box.

The goal provoked polar scenes of jubilation and dejection for the two teams, making a last-ditch comeback for the Maroon and Grey nearly impossible. When the final whistle blew seconds later, the Marauders knew that a golden opportunity to move forward had been missed.

McMaster’s veteran goalkeeper Matt Grant – who himself enjoyed a standout performance in the loss – spoke to the frustration his squad experienced after conceding in the dying moments.

“The reaction on the field showed exactly how we felt,” said Grant. “It was kind of shocking for me because I thought we could have won the game. We were just trying to hold on and get to the penalty shootout, and we’d weathered the pressure for most of the game.

“It’s especially frustrating knowing that it was our last real, competitive match of the season.”

Despite the heartbreaking nature of the Nov. 10 result, Grant believes that his squad gave a good account of itself against one of the premier outfits in the country.

“We played extremely hard,” said the goalkeeper. “There were times in the game where we were trying to find our feet, because it’s a completely different level at the CIS tournament and Cape Breton are a very good team.

“They played very quickly so we had to adapt a lot, but we played them well.”

While the quarterfinal loss ended McMaster’s dreams of medaling at the national level, Grant indicates that the team remained focused on success in the consolation rounds.

There, the Marauders won a Nov. 11 contest against the Montreal Carabins before dropping the fifth-place match against McGill the next day to finish sixth in the field of eight squads.

Grant argues that the Marauders lost none of their edge after being eliminated from medal contention, and aimed to compete to the best of their ability regardless of the nature of the contest.

“A lot of the older guys, myself included, wanted to compete in those [consolation] games because they could be our last match for the team,” said the fourth-year keeper. “We didn’t want to end our careers on a losing note.

“We didn’t want to go out to Victoria just for the vacation. If you’re going out there, you have to go out to win every game.”

While the Marauders remain disappointed with their inability to medal at the event, they can take solace in the knowledge that they will return the vast majority of this season’s successful squad next year.

Only two members of McMaster’s current starting 11 are guaranteed to graduate, as All-Canadian defender Anthony Costa and midfielder Daniel Niksic have exhausted their five years of eligibility.

Two others, defender Garrett McConville and Grant have the option of returning for a fifth season, and have yet to make that decision.

For his part, the veteran keeper indicates that the large core of returning players makes McMaster’s future on the pitch a bright one.

“I think it’s very promising looking forward to next season,” said Grant. “We had five rookies starting already this year and a lot of young players seeing playing time. We’ve got a very young core, and it looks promising because Coach [Dino] Perri has done a great job of recruiting.

“So I feel that we can compete just as well if not better next season.”

In the meantime, Grant and his teammates look forward to the relative relaxation of the offseason, where they will work to improve their individual play and tighten the ties that bind together their sporting family.