November 6, 2005
RAVENS AND HOST BLUES ADVANCE TO OUA MEN'S SOCCER FINAL
Toronto 2 Western 1
The Varsity Blues knocked off two-time defending OUA
champion and the nation's top-ranked Western Mustangs 2-1 Saturday
afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre. The win guaranteed first-year
head coach Carmine Isacco and his squad a trip to P.E.I and a spot in
the CIS men’s soccer championships next weekend. U of T’s Alen Keri and
Josh Gordon came through for the Blues picking up their first goals of
the post-season to secure a spot in Sunday’s OUA Final at St. Mike’s
College (1515 Bathurst St.), for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Mustangs lone goal of the day came from midfielder Scott Cameron.
Western will look to bounce back and fight for the bronze medal where
they face the York Lions.
Rain greeted the players at the start of the match forcing both teams
to adjust to the conditions on the turf, as a result, neither team was
able to take control. With 19 minutes elapsed, Western was given a free
kick from 45 yards out. Taken straight out of the Mustangs vault of set
pieces, the ball was fired into the back post and redirected towards
the U of T goal. Varsity Blues keeper Luciano Lombardi rejected the
shot, giving up a loose rebound landing on the foot of Western’s Scott
Cameron who firmly put it away to go up 1-0.
Varsity Blues midfielder Kyle Hall used his pace down the sideline
creating a free kick opportunity for U of T in the 40th minute. The
cross went to the far post and Alen Keri stepped in and headed the ball
towards the goal. The Mustangs defence attempted a clear but the
deflection went in favour of the Blues to enter the half tied at 1-1.
Western’s De Thomasis came into the second half creating some offence
for the Mustangs but seemed to be the lone player up front. The Varsity
Blues showed their offensive flair with Evan Milward and Mike Bialy
pairing up to generate a few chances, but nothing materialized.
The Varsity Blues knocked the ball around on the ground and got the
Mustangs to chase opening up gaps which Vancouver native Josh Gordon
seized on a dribble and buried the ball past Western goalkeeper Haidar
Al-Shaibani to go up 2-0. A hard foul in the 71st minute resulted in
the dismissal of Blues defender Dustin Chung, leaving the Blues to
defend their lead without one of their top players.
Mustang players embraced each other at the final whistle having missed
out on the opportunity for a three-peat. Head coach Rock Basacco said
finishing off a game when his squad is up 1-0 is something they have
struggled with all season, although he could not ignore the Blues
powerful offence.
“Give credit to Toronto, they played very well and they kept the
pressure up and they’ve got some very, very quick strikers and that’s
difficult to contain,” Basacco said.
In the same tone, Isacco praised the top ranked Mustangs and was
pleased with the way the game unfolded.
“Western is number one in the nation and deservedly they are… We stuck
to our game plan all game and I thought we created a ton of chances, in
the second half especially,” Isacco said. “I think it was well
deserved. I think our boys have been working hard all year and it’s
nice to see that preparation comes with success.”
Carleton 2 York 0
Carleton’s Timothy Khaemba scored a pair of second
half goals to lift the Ravens past the York Lions 2-0 in OUA semi-final
action Saturday afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughn, Ont.
With the win, Carleton earns a spot at the CIS National Championship in
P.E.I. next weekend and advance to Sunday's OUA Final for a date with
the U of T Varsity Blues at St. Mike’s College (1515 Bathurst St.),
game time slated for 2 p.m. In the Bronze medal match, the Lions will
play the Western Mustangs, kickoff time is 11:30 a.m.
After a scoreless first half, York looked to have a slight advantage in
the 69th minute going up a player as Ravens midfielder Jorge Gutierrez
was ejected after receiving his second yellow card of the match.
Minutes later, the Ravens received another crushing blow when OUA
East/West Player of the Year Joshua Dewar-morris clashed with Lions
goalkeeper Greg Zatulovsky just outside the six-yard box. Dewar-morris
was assessed for 16 minutes by the medical staff and was forced to
leave the game with a serious injury.
With the momentum sitting on the Lions bench, York’s Kasey Kiarash
knocked in a corner kick finding the head of Joe Vaz, but a quick
reflex by Ravens keeper Arjun Langford shredded the Lions effort.
Carleton's Khaemba said his team used their misfortunes as motivation
which paid off in the 76th minute when Paul Waiganjo dribbled along the
end line and spotted Khaemba outside the six-yard box and chipped a low
ball catching a diving Khaemba who flicked it past Zaulovsky to put the
Ravens up 1-0.
Down 1-0, the Lions stepped up their offensive pressure and looked to
have the equalizer in the 84th minute when Joe Vaz slotted the ball
past a sliding Langford but hit the post, leaving the Lions bench on
their toes.
In the dying seconds of the match, Khaemba zigzagged through the Lions
defence landing a one-on-one situation which he calmly slipped past
Zatulovsky for the 2-0 victory.
Raven’s coach Sandy Mackie commended his team’s efforts in the second
half.
“I thought we showed tremendous character and played really well,”
Mackie said. “We’re disciplined, we have a system we stick to and we’ve
shown a lot of character all year.”
Lions head coach Paul James was disappointed in the loss but is
optimistic about the young talent on the squad.
“We played well, we just didn’t finish and we didn’t really create too
many opportunities,” James said. “We’re a bit young, we have 15
freshmen and eight were out there starting today... We just got caught
right at the end, but I think the future looks good for us.”
(Source: University of Toronto Sports Information)
The Varsity Blues knocked off two-time defending OUA
champion and the nation's top-ranked Western Mustangs 2-1 Saturday
afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre. The win guaranteed first-year
head coach Carmine Isacco and his squad a trip to P.E.I and a spot in
the CIS men’s soccer championships next weekend. U of T’s Alen Keri and
Josh Gordon came through for the Blues picking up their first goals of
the post-season to secure a spot in Sunday’s OUA Final at St. Mike’s
College (1515 Bathurst St.), for a 2 p.m. kickoff.
The Mustangs lone goal of the day came from midfielder Scott Cameron.
Western will look to bounce back and fight for the bronze medal where
they face the York Lions.
Rain greeted the players at the start of the match forcing both teams
to adjust to the conditions on the turf, as a result, neither team was
able to take control. With 19 minutes elapsed, Western was given a free
kick from 45 yards out. Taken straight out of the Mustangs vault of set
pieces, the ball was fired into the back post and redirected towards
the U of T goal. Varsity Blues keeper Luciano Lombardi rejected the
shot, giving up a loose rebound landing on the foot of Western’s Scott
Cameron who firmly put it away to go up 1-0.
Varsity Blues midfielder Kyle Hall used his pace down the sideline
creating a free kick opportunity for U of T in the 40th minute. The
cross went to the far post and Alen Keri stepped in and headed the ball
towards the goal. The Mustangs defence attempted a clear but the
deflection went in favour of the Blues to enter the half tied at 1-1.
Western’s De Thomasis came into the second half creating some offence
for the Mustangs but seemed to be the lone player up front. The Varsity
Blues showed their offensive flair with Evan Milward and Mike Bialy
pairing up to generate a few chances, but nothing materialized.
The Varsity Blues knocked the ball around on the ground and got the
Mustangs to chase opening up gaps which Vancouver native Josh Gordon
seized on a dribble and buried the ball past Western goalkeeper Haidar
Al-Shaibani to go up 2-0. A hard foul in the 71st minute resulted in
the dismissal of Blues defender Dustin Chung, leaving the Blues to
defend their lead without one of their top players.
Mustang players embraced each other at the final whistle having missed
out on the opportunity for a three-peat. Head coach Rock Basacco said
finishing off a game when his squad is up 1-0 is something they have
struggled with all season, although he could not ignore the Blues
powerful offence.
“Give credit to Toronto, they played very well and they kept the
pressure up and they’ve got some very, very quick strikers and that’s
difficult to contain,” Basacco said.
In the same tone, Isacco praised the top ranked Mustangs and was
pleased with the way the game unfolded.
“Western is number one in the nation and deservedly they are… We stuck
to our game plan all game and I thought we created a ton of chances, in
the second half especially,” Isacco said. “I think it was well
deserved. I think our boys have been working hard all year and it’s
nice to see that preparation comes with success.”
Carleton 2 York 0
Carleton’s Timothy Khaemba scored a pair of second
half goals to lift the Ravens past the York Lions 2-0 in OUA semi-final
action Saturday afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Vaughn, Ont.
With the win, Carleton earns a spot at the CIS National Championship in
P.E.I. next weekend and advance to Sunday's OUA Final for a date with
the U of T Varsity Blues at St. Mike’s College (1515 Bathurst St.),
game time slated for 2 p.m. In the Bronze medal match, the Lions will
play the Western Mustangs, kickoff time is 11:30 a.m.
After a scoreless first half, York looked to have a slight advantage in
the 69th minute going up a player as Ravens midfielder Jorge Gutierrez
was ejected after receiving his second yellow card of the match.
Minutes later, the Ravens received another crushing blow when OUA
East/West Player of the Year Joshua Dewar-morris clashed with Lions
goalkeeper Greg Zatulovsky just outside the six-yard box. Dewar-morris
was assessed for 16 minutes by the medical staff and was forced to
leave the game with a serious injury.
With the momentum sitting on the Lions bench, York’s Kasey Kiarash
knocked in a corner kick finding the head of Joe Vaz, but a quick
reflex by Ravens keeper Arjun Langford shredded the Lions effort.
Carleton's Khaemba said his team used their misfortunes as motivation
which paid off in the 76th minute when Paul Waiganjo dribbled along the
end line and spotted Khaemba outside the six-yard box and chipped a low
ball catching a diving Khaemba who flicked it past Zaulovsky to put the
Ravens up 1-0.
Down 1-0, the Lions stepped up their offensive pressure and looked to
have the equalizer in the 84th minute when Joe Vaz slotted the ball
past a sliding Langford but hit the post, leaving the Lions bench on
their toes.
In the dying seconds of the match, Khaemba zigzagged through the Lions
defence landing a one-on-one situation which he calmly slipped past
Zatulovsky for the 2-0 victory.
Raven’s coach Sandy Mackie commended his team’s efforts in the second
half.
“I thought we showed tremendous character and played really well,”
Mackie said. “We’re disciplined, we have a system we stick to and we’ve
shown a lot of character all year.”
Lions head coach Paul James was disappointed in the loss but is
optimistic about the young talent on the squad.
“We played well, we just didn’t finish and we didn’t really create too
many opportunities,” James said. “We’re a bit young, we have 15
freshmen and eight were out there starting today... We just got caught
right at the end, but I think the future looks good for us.”
(Source: University of Toronto Sports Information)
