The McMaster men's soccer team finds itself in familiar territory as it edged  the Windsor Lancers 1-0 in quarterfinal action on Sunday night in the border city, to advance to the OUA Final-Four.

It was a clash of fierce rivals as the two teams had split their OUA games with each winning at home, and some hard feelings coming out of both games.  The Lancers entered play ranked No. 4 in the CIS top-ten, while McMaster had dropped out of the rankings after being in the top-ten most of the year.

Playing in a hostile environment, the Marauders played a very disciplined style, content to limit Windsor's chances, while looking to create on the counter-attack.  McMaster enjoyed the better of the play in the first-half but the teams were scoreless at intermission.

Both teams picked up the intensity in the second-half, perhaps sensing that one goal would be enough to advance.  Frustration resulted in some chippy play from both sides, as both keepers kept things tied and the tension kept building, resulting in seven yellow cards being issued between the teams.

Finally in the 75th minute, the Marauders made a dangerous challenge and put the ball in the box, where the ensuing scramble saw the Lancers whistled for a foul and the referee pointed to the spot for a McMaster penalty kick.  Veteran Gersi Xhuti stepped up and buried his shot to give his team the lead with less than 15 minutes remaining.

With Windsor desperate for an equalizer, the Lancers pressed hard but the Marauders were equal to the challenge and Mac keeper Angelo Cavalluzzo was able to maintain the clean sheet through stoppage time.

McMaster will now face the Ryerson Rams at the OUA Final-Four, being hosted at York University on November 7 & 8th.   The other semi-final sees York playing Toronto.  keep an eye on marauders.ca for information about the Final-Four as it becomes available.