Fredericton, NB – Overtime was needed to decide the semi-final match between the Holland College Hurricanes (2) and the University of King’s College Blue Devils (3). UKC managed to fend off the higher-seeded Blue Devils for 90 minutes, forcing overtime, in the program’s first playoff appearance in four years.
The first half of the game was a quiet affair, with both teams playing sound defensively. The play went back and forth with neither team able to generate much offensively.
It wasn’t until the 77th minute when the Blue Devils were able to create their first dangerous chance on offence, firing a shot off the crossbar, missing the mark by mere inches.
Only minutes later, UKC had another chance to open the scoring, coming so close to finding the back of the net, that many Blue Devils fans jumped to their feet in celebration, only to discover that the ball never fully crossed the goal line – the game remained scoreless.
The Hurricanes immediately marched down the pitch, feeding the ball to the ACAA Player of the Year, Mohammad Alhaj Ali, but he was denied by the Blue Devils’ keeper just before the end of regulation play.
The Hurricanes would eventually break the deadlock, as Clay Kelly slid for a loose ball in front of the Blue Devils’ net in the dying minutes of extra time, knocking the ball past the outstretched hands of the ACAA Keeper of the Year, Rylan Logan. As the ball trickled over the goal line, the Hurricanes’ bench erupted in jubilation, celebrating Kelly’s biggest goal of his ACAA career.
“I saw the ball come in, so I reached out and slid for it,” Kelly said. “My coach was on me all season to do a slide tackle,” he said with a smile.
Kelly’s goal in extra time gave the Hurricanes a birth in Sunday’s final.
“It’s huge to get a late winner like that,” Kelly said. “There’s a lot of emotions going through my head.”
Kelly and the Hurricanes will take on the STU Tommies in the 2022 ACAA Men’s Soccer Championship Final on Sunday, at the Grant-Harvey Turf Field at 2:30pm.