TORONTO – The No. 3 nationally ranked Guelph Gryphons' men's soccer team has had a habit of leaving things late in the opening week of the OUA season. But it's worked. Jace Kotsopoulos equalized early in the second half and substitute Atchu Siva scored in the 89^th minute to bring Guelph from behind and stun the York Lions 2-1 at Alumni Field in Toronto Wednesday night.

It was a rematch of last year's OUA championship, which the Gryphons won 3-1. The latest meeting was another thriller, with Guelph going down 1-0 on a Steve Kloutsouniotis strike from the top of the area in the 31^st minute.

"We rearranged some things at halftime," said Gryphons' coach Keith Mason, proud that his players didn't settle for a draw in a tough away match. "The second half, I thought we were the better team. But we keep falling behind.

"We'll have to learn not to do that."

Guelph (2-0-1) has been accustomed to trailing, coming back from 3-1 down in its 4-3 victory over Windsor and adding a late goal to draw Western 2-2 in London last Sunday. Unfazed by the deficit, the Gryphons got yet another goal from Kostopoulos, a third-year forward from Burlington, ON, whose fifth of the young season came in the 51^st minute. The star striker received a pass, moved left across the 18-yard box and curled a left-footed strike into the bottom left hand corner past keeper Andrew D'Souza.
 

"He showed the composure," Mason said of his star forward. "When we recruited Jace, he was touted by many American D1 schools. We knew he was a quality player. Before this season, he had been succeeding in the OUA while injured. Now, he is strong, fit and healthy. He's made so many contributions to the team already.

"He's one of the premier strikers, if not the best, in the OUA."

Kostopoulos was busy all evening, accounting for six of his side's 14 shot attempts, though just his goal was on target despite all of the chances. His equalizer set the stage for Siva's late match winner. The third-year midfielder and Brampton native was subbed into the match in the 74^th minute to replace Johnson Amoo. And he didn't take long to leave his mark. Siva's goal was much like the first, though he moved the ball to the right along the edge of the box, before unleashing a shot at the same left corner that Kotsopoulos had found.

The result could have been very different if Guelph's rookie goalkeeper Erik Hermanns, substituted into the game to start the second half for his OUA debut, didn't produce one of the saves of the match in the 80^th minute. York's Cristian Cavallini split two Gryphon defenders in the area and tried to curl a bending strike into the left top corner of the net but the 6-3 Hermanns reacted quickly, diving to his right so he could parry the ball away with both hands. He made one more critical stop in added time when York got a free header that was goal bound but Hermanns was there to deny the Lions again.

"Erik couldn't have come into a tougher OUA game," Mason said of Hermann's first ever university minutes. "He showed no fear, he controlled things, he was very verbal. It was fantastic to see."

Guelph has secured seven of nine points in its first three away matches.

The Gryphons play their fourth straight on the road in Waterloo Saturday, Sept. 2, when they face the Laurier Golden Hawks. Match time is 3:15 pm.