July 5, 2013
2013 SUMMER UNIVERSIADE: MEN'S SOCCER - CANUCKS ERASE 2-GOAL DEFICIT TO TIE FRANCE
July 5, 2013
KAZAN, Russia (Team Canada) – Down 2-0 after 25 minutes of play, the Canadian men’s soccer team came back to salvage a 2-2 draw against France in its Universiade opener, Friday afternoon at Raketa Stadium.
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2013
Team Canada Twitter: @CDNUniversiade | #gocanada
Summer Universiade website: www.kazan2013.com/en
“The guys played well. To come from behind like that was quite a challenge, especially in a tournament of this level,” said head coach Pat Raimondo from the University of Montreal. “They were nervous at the start but they settled down nicely in the second half. They played at the level we expect of them after the break.”
France opened the scoring in the 11th minute on a goal by Mohand Merhouni, who jumped over a crowd to redirect a free kick with the head.
The Canucks had a number of chances to tie the affair but found themselves down by two when Anthony Villa potted in a rebound at the 25-minute mark. Goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas of Toronto (York University) had made the initial save off another free kick.
This time, however, the red and white was able to respond. Less than a minute after Villa’s marker, Canadian captain Robbie Murphy of Ottawa (Guelph) saw his shot blocked by a defender but Dylan Bams of Fanny Bay, B.C. (Toronto), jumped on the loose ball to cut the deficit to one.
Varlokostas made a key save in the dying moments of the first half to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the break.
“We made costly mistakes on each of their two goals,” said Varlokostas. “But we grew more confident as the game progressed and we were able to get a good result in the end.”
Canada completed its comeback in the 77th minute. Following a corner kick, Marco Visentin of Vancouver (UBC) rushed to the 18-yard box, where he was tripped, forcing the referee to call a penalty. Murphy was picked to step up to the dot and made no mistake, finding the back of the net with a low shot.
“We knew we had to stay patient and not try to apply too much pressure on offence,” Murphy said. “There was a lot of time left and we finally got our chances.”
Canada plays its second of three pool contests Monday at 8 p.m. local (noon ET) against Peru (0-1)
BOXSCORE: Canada vs France
SOURCE: CIS
KAZAN, Russia (Team Canada) – Down 2-0 after 25 minutes of play, the Canadian men’s soccer team came back to salvage a 2-2 draw against France in its Universiade opener, Friday afternoon at Raketa Stadium.
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2013
Team Canada Twitter: @CDNUniversiade | #gocanada
Summer Universiade website: www.kazan2013.com/en
“The guys played well. To come from behind like that was quite a challenge, especially in a tournament of this level,” said head coach Pat Raimondo from the University of Montreal. “They were nervous at the start but they settled down nicely in the second half. They played at the level we expect of them after the break.”
France opened the scoring in the 11th minute on a goal by Mohand Merhouni, who jumped over a crowd to redirect a free kick with the head.
The Canucks had a number of chances to tie the affair but found themselves down by two when Anthony Villa potted in a rebound at the 25-minute mark. Goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas of Toronto (York University) had made the initial save off another free kick.
This time, however, the red and white was able to respond. Less than a minute after Villa’s marker, Canadian captain Robbie Murphy of Ottawa (Guelph) saw his shot blocked by a defender but Dylan Bams of Fanny Bay, B.C. (Toronto), jumped on the loose ball to cut the deficit to one.
Varlokostas made a key save in the dying moments of the first half to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the break.
“We made costly mistakes on each of their two goals,” said Varlokostas. “But we grew more confident as the game progressed and we were able to get a good result in the end.”
Canada completed its comeback in the 77th minute. Following a corner kick, Marco Visentin of Vancouver (UBC) rushed to the 18-yard box, where he was tripped, forcing the referee to call a penalty. Murphy was picked to step up to the dot and made no mistake, finding the back of the net with a low shot.
“We knew we had to stay patient and not try to apply too much pressure on offence,” Murphy said. “There was a lot of time left and we finally got our chances.”
Canada plays its second of three pool contests Monday at 8 p.m. local (noon ET) against Peru (0-1)
BOXSCORE: Canada vs France
SOURCE: CIS
