GUELPH – Traveling to Guelph for the first round of the OUA playoffs, the Brock Badgers men's soccer team took the OUA West No. 3 seed Gryphons to extra time eventually falling in penalty kicks to the home side.

In the Wednesday evening contest, the Badgers were first on the board as Marc Iantomasi scored for Brock just eight minutes into the playoff matchup. One of the top defensive teams in the OUA through the regular season, conceding just five goals over 12 regular season games, the Badgers looked to shore up defensively after taking the early lead and would carry the 1-0 advantage into the half.

Following the break, the U SPORTS No. 9 nationally ranked Gryphons were finally able to find an equalizer as Colin Gander connected with Leo Shrimpton from a free kick opportunity in the 53rd minute. From there, neither team were able to find a game-winner extending the match into overtime which consisted of two 15 minute periods.

Early in the first overtime frame, Guelph broke through with John Greenhough giving the Gryphons a 2-1 lead. With the clock counting down on the Badgers season, second-year Brock striker Michael Solomon answered back scoring with just two minutes remaining in the second overtime period forcing penalty kicks.

Heading to the spot for a showdown with the Gryphons and a berth to the OUA quarter-finals on the line, it was Guelph who succeeded with all five kickers converting to just four for the Badgers.

An incredibly successful season for Brock, which saw the team finish as one of the Top 5 defensive units in the province and compete with nationally ranked opponents such as York and Guelph, the Badgers future looks bright under new head coach Aleks Balta. 

BADGERS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 6-4-5 (W-L-T)
Conference Record: 4-3-5

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