Men's soccer plays to 0-0 draw with Golden Bears

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SASKATOON - Despite a barrage of chances in the final minutes of the match, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies and University of Alberta Golden Bears played to a 0-0 tie Sunday in Field 7 in PotashCorp Park. 

The Golden Bears outshot the Huskies 10-6 in the game – six coming in the second half, while the Huskies had five of their opportunities in the first half. 

In the final 10 minutes of the match, Alberta had three strong chances to break the scoreless match. In the 80th minute, Ajeej Sarakaria got on a foot on a free kick that was taken just to the right of the box, but his shot sailed wide. In the 89th minute, Easton Ongaro's head sailed just over the cross bar and in the 90th minute he missed just wide left after a scramble in front of the net. Tolu Esan also hit the post in the 55th minute. 

Saskatchewan's best chance of the match came in the 19th minute when a Mohammed Omar header just missed the top corner of the net. Golden Bears' keeper Connor James also made saves on a Tobias Hyrich-Krueger attempt from the right side, as well as a Bryce Marinus ball in the first half.

James finished the game making two saves for the Golden Bears, while Huskies' netminder Patrick Pranger stopped four in his second straight clean sheet. 

With the draw, Saskatchewan is 7-4-1 on the season, while Alberta sits at 7-1-2. The rivals sit in the top two positions in the Canada West standings and seemingly have a stronghold on the home playoff quarter-final dates in late October.

Both the Huskies and Golden Bears enter a bye weekend before returning to the pitch on October 14. Saskatchewan travels to meet the Calgary Dinos and Mount Royal Cougars, while the Golden Bears play a home-and-home series with the MacEwan Griffins.

Match Notes: The match was the Huskies final at home in the 2017 men's soccer regular season. The match marked the second Bateman Cup. The Cup is meant to celebrate the life of Reginald Bateman and the first match between the two squads in 1911.