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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, November 11, 2016 | 22 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff "Connected to your Community" Aquinas drops rematch vs. Rebels in Halton volleyball semi By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Zis helps Guelph end drought Oakville product scores two as Gryphons win first OUA title since 1990 Alexander Zis is listing what he loves about soccer -- seeing what he can do with the ball in his feet, pursuing his dream of playing at the highest level -- when he pauses. "And of course, I love scoring goals," he says. Zis no doubt loved Sunday's Ontario University Athletics championship game as he scored twice to lead the Guelph Gryphons to a 3-1 upset of the two-time defending national champion York Lions. It was Guelph's first OUA men's soccer title since 1990 -- eight years before Zis was born. "It was a great feeling," said the game's most valuable player. "We worked hard all week to prepare and we learned from our mistakes." Guelph put together a 12-2-2 record, but both of those losses came at the hands of York. That continued Guelph's long drought against the Lions. It had been 10 years since the Gryphons last beat York, earning just two ties in 23 matches since 2006. It looked like that might continue when another Oakville player, Milan Beader, opened the scoring for York off a corner kick just nine minutes into the match. Despite Guelph's history against York, Zis said he and his teammates didn't let the early goal bother them, noting the Gryphons scored first in both regularseason meetings between the teams. The Gryphons were rewarded in the 23rd minute when Jace Kotsopoulos tied the game. Then in injury time Zis fired a strike from the edge of the box that went in off the far post to give Guelph the halftime lead. "Definitely, getting that goal right before the half gives you more energy and puts the other team on its heels," the rookie midfielder said. Guelph carried that momentum into the second half and in the 55th minute Zis put in the rebound off a shot from teammate Tomas Skublak to make it 3-1. His playoff heroics continued an outstanding freshman campaign for Zis, who played with the Oakville Soccer Club before joining the TFC Academy three years ago. He had eight goals and ranked second in the OUA with seven assists in the regular season, but took his game to another level recently. He had three goals in the final game of the regular season, then scored the game winner in the Gryphons' 3-1 quarter-final triumph over McMaster and had an overtime goal in a 3-0 victory over Ryerson in the semifinals. With two goals in the final, Zis tied York's Beader for the most playoff goals. Zis said it's been a pleasant surprise to be able to contribute to the team's success in his first season. "I knew Guelph was a team on the rise, but I didn't know if I would get so many opportunities," he said. There is one more opportunity ahead. Guelph was already assured a spot in the U Sports championship as the host, but now it heads into Thursday's tournament opener against the Acadia Axemen knowing the team earned respect as the No. 1 seed. "Knowing (the York Lions) have been to nationals before and won it, it's a good sign," Zis said. "It shows that we can compete with teams in other leagues." Three other Oakville players will be looking to help Guelph claim the national title. Youssef Zaghloul, a second-year midfielder, scored four regular-season goals, including two game winners, and had two assists. Third-year keeper Braden Taylor played three games, stopping all five shots he faced, and rookie defender Quintin McCleary played 13 games, starting five times. Eight days after scoring a thrilling three-set victory over the Georgetown Rebels on the road, the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders couldn't repeat the feat at home. The Rebels delivered the ultimate revenge, coming into the Aquinas gym and winning 25-14, 25-18 in Wednesday's Halton senior boys' volleyball semifinal. "We definitely didn't play like we did in our league game," Aquinas coach Liz Camastro said of the 26-24, 23-25, 18-16 win last Tuesday that helped the Raiders secure second place ahead of Georgetown after both teams finished the season at 8-2. "We're two evenly-matched teams and somebody has to win. This group has been together for four years, though, so today was pretty emotional." The teams traded points early in the opening set with Aquinas leading 6-5. However, a 10-1 Georgetown run put the Raiders in a deep hole they couldn't climb out of. Aquinas fell behind 9-3 in the second set and though the Raiders got back within two, Georgetown came out of a timeout with five straight points to rebuild see Beating on p. 23 Alexander Zis scored twice in the OUA final as the Guelph Gryphons beat York 3-1 to capture their first men's soccer title in 26 years. Zis, who shared the OUA lead with four goals in the playoffs, was named game MVP. | photo courtesy of Karyn Stepien Tues/Thurs: Baseball and Softball Skills Classes (Pitching, Hitting, Fielding, Catching) Mon/Wed: Baseball Development Program (for current or future rep players) Fri: Softball Hitting Clinics Sat/Sun: 6 week or 12 week Camps Age 4-6: Parent and Player Camp Age 6-9: All-Skill 5-Tool Camp to learn the fundamentals Age 9+: All-Skill 5-Tool Camp to practice skills to get better Age 10+: High Performance Camp for future rep or travel program players Contact Fieldhouse for Lessons, Classes, Clinics and Training Programs. 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