Written by Thomas Scott

The Dalhousie University Tigers men’s soccer team clinched a playoff berth on Saturday against the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers in a 1-0 victory with the help of a Ben Thompson (Hammonds Plains, NS) goal in the seventh minute.  

It was Thompson’s first goal as a Tiger, and it could not have come at a better time for the first-year science major, helping the Tigers finish with a 4-5-3 record.    

The Tigers face the third-seeded University of New Brunswick Reds on Thursday in Sydney, Nova Scotia, at 8pm in the AUS quarter-final. The Tigers head to the AUS Championship, hosted by the Cape Breton University Capers, as the sixth seed.

It is a rematch of last year’s AUS quarter-final, where the Tigers experienced a gutting 1-0 loss in overtime to the Reds.  

“We want to make it a point that this might be the same team on paper, but in terms of our character and our experience, we’re a completely different team and we're ready to go and win more games,” says Tigers captain Luke Berryman (Halifax, NS).    

Undefeated in the final five games, the Tigers are hitting their stride at the perfect time.    

“I think we're the team that no one wants to play right now,” says Berryman. “I think everyone else can feel the energy we have. I don't feel like an underdog because I'm expecting us to go out onto the pitch and win the game.”