Moving on up: Panthers move into playoff spot with win over Memorial

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers find themselves in a playoff position after defeating the Memorial Sea-Hawks 2-1 Friday night. 

With the win, the Panthers (4-3-3) moved up from eighth to sixth in a tight conference where every point matters. 

"We're happy right now. This was a very important game for us and we want to carry this momentum into the next game and hopefully secure our spot," said Panther midfielder Kasper Lasia, who scored a goal and assisted on the other. 

Knowing what's at stake this late in the season, UPEI continued to show the defensive discipline and intensity that makes them one of the best teams in goal prevention. The Sea-Hawks (4-4-1) were held to just three shots on goal and didn't generate much in the way of scoring chances until it was too late. 

They also didn't do themselves any favours, as an innocent looking play turned disastrous. In the 32nd minute, a Lasia free kick from just inside half went off the goalkeeper's hands and in to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. 

They would extend that lead in the 60th minute on one of the most impressive goals of the AUS season. Lasia, who's found a lot of success on free kicks this season, sailed one into the box to Ehab Moustafa, who got up and powered a header into the net. 

At the moment, Moustafa knew it was game over.

"Once we scored that goal, I knew we had it," Moustafa said. 

While the team has struggled at times with their own offence, that highlight reel goal was a byproduct of the chemistry the team has built over the year. 

"We've been practising that free kick for a while, so we're used to it now," Moustafa said. 

The Sea-Hawks still had a say in this game and made things interesting in extra time when Straun McLean took the loose ball in the box, avoided goalkeeper keeper Evan Couturier, who was rushing at him to make the save, and fired it in to cut the deficit in half. 

Momentum had clearly swung as they continued to apply pressure, but it was too late as there wasn't enough time to mount a comeback. 

The Panthers look to move further up the standings when they travel to Halifax to take on the Saint Mary's Huskies Sunday afternoon.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan