October 27, 2009
OUA M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: UNRANKED RAVENS BEAT NO. 10 GAELS TO WRAP-UP REGULAR SEASON
OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens (7-5-2) closed out the 2009 OUA East regular season campaign with a convincing 4-1 victory over their Kingston rivals, the No. 10 nationally-ranked Queen's Gaels (8-2-4).
The Ravens played one of their strongest matches of the entire campaign after spotting Queen's an early goal by Mike Arnold (London, Ont.). After that the Ravens dominated the remaining 83 minutes scoring four unanswered goals and seeing veteran goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa) stop a Queen's penalty kick.
Carleton's Cake Simrooglu (Izmir, Turkey) tied the match at the 25th minute of play and Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) scored his sixth goal of his rookie season at the 39th minute to give Carleton a 2-1 halftime lead.
In the second half, Carleton kept controlling the midfield which led to Jonni Okai (Ottawa) scoring his team leading seventh goal of the season at the 59th minute of play.
The Ravens continued to pressure Queen's resulting in a penalty shot at the 61st minute and Simrooglu made no mistake, blowing it by Queen's goalkeeper Jon Rogers (Calgary) who was placed in the Gaels net for the second half.
The Gaels have a bye through the first-round of playoffs and the Ravens host the Nipissing Lakers in first-round playoff action on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.
TORONTO 5, RMC 0
The No. 5-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues (11-1-2) continued their dominance in the OUA East, soundly defeating the RMC Paladins (0-11-3) by a score of 5-0 on Saturday at Varsity Centre.
Alexander Raphael (East York, Ont.) set the pace early with his seventh goal of the season to put the Blues up 1-0 in the first four minutes of the contest. Scott Nesbitt (Scarborough, Ont.) would find the back of the net in the 27th minute, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Varsity Blues did not let up in the second half. Leading scorer Nordo Gooden (Kingston, Jamaica) tallied his eighth goal in the 48th minute to put the Blues up by three.
Goalkeeper Jhordan Dorrington (Mississauga, Ont.) would have to make several saves just to keep the score respectable for the Paladins. However, Fanny Bay B.C. native Dylan Bams and Mario Nallira (Toronto) each added a goal late as the Blues came away with a convincing 5-0 victory.
With his goal, Gooden moves into a tie for first place in the OUA scoring lead, with Raphael right behind him in second.
The No. 5 Varsity Blues finish the regular season atop the OUA East, with an impressive 11-1-2 record. Earning a preliminary-round bye, Toronto will host an OUA East quarter-final game on Saturday at Varsity Centre.
TRENT 2, LAURENTIAN 1
The Trent Excalibur (3-8-3) earned a 2-0 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs (6-6-2) in OUA East action in Peterborough, Ont.
Trent came out playing with intense speed and determination early in the game, with Thaddeus Bolton (Bowmanville, Ont.) and Cromwell Damile (Toronto) both notching goals for Excalibur.
Laurentian's Stephen Fattore (Brampton, Ont.) netted one for his side, bringing the game to a 2-1 victory for Excalibur.
Laurentian hosts the Ryerson Rams in first-round playoff action on Oct. 28.
WESTERN 2, GUELPH 1
The Western Mustangs (4-6-4) narrowly beat the Guelph Gryphons (6-7-1) on Saturday afternoon.
Western's Ryan Avola (London, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 41st minute, but Guelph's Colin MacMillan (Newmarket, Ont.) answered back in the 53rd minute.
Guelph pressed hard in the second half in hopes of their second victory over Western this season, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Western's Mark Pocrnic was the game's hero, scoring the game winner in extra time.
Western visits Waterloo and Guelph hosts McMaster in first-round playoff matches.
YORK 0, WINDSOR 0
In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams, the No. 2 York Lions (9-2-3) and the No. 9 Windsor Lancers (8-1-5) played to a scoreless draw on Saturday.
The match was another well balanced game with both teams applying offensive pressure throughout the contest.
The Lancers pressed hard in the second half in hopes of their second victory over York on the season, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Keepers Dan Mendonca (London, Ont.) and Alim Karim (Scarborough, Ont.) played well in the match to earn their respective shutouts.
Both teams next take to the pitch on Oct. 31 as they host quarter-final matches.
MCMASTER 0, LAURIER 0
Neither the McMaster Marauders (6-7-1) nor the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3-6-5) could find the back of the net on Saturday, as they played to a 0-0 tie.
Matthew Grant (Brampton, Ont.) earned the shutout for McMaster, while Jarrett Humphreys (Waterloo, Ont.) and Michael Filipovic (St. Thomas, Ont.) split the clean sheet for Laurier.
McMaster begins their playoff run on Wednesday when they visit the Guelph Gryphons.
WATERLOO 3, BROCK 0
The Waterloo Warriors (6-5-3) earned the right to host a first-round playoff game thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Brock Badgers (2-10-2).
Waterloo striker and Toronto native Leon Latty scored once in the first half and once in the second to lead the Warriors to a 3-0 win.
Bill Bean (Waterloo, Ont.) scored in the 90th minute for the Warriors third goal.
Mike Saccone (Aurora, Ont.) made eight saves and earned the shut-out victory.
The Warriors will face the Western Mustangs on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
NIPISSING 0, TRENT 0
On Sunday afternoon, the Nipissing Lakers (2-5-7) and the Trent Excalibur (3-8-3) played to a 0-0 draw.
Nipissing keeper Cory Schwartz (Owen Sound, Ont.) and his Trent counterpart, Josip Bosnjak (Pickering, Ont.), preserved the shutouts.
The Lakers start their playoff run with a match in Ottawa on Wednesday against the Carleton Ravens.
RYERSON 3, RMC 0
The Ryerson Rams (5-4-5) controlled the pace of the game for the entire 90 minutes on Sunday, on their way to a 3-0 victory over the visiting RMC Paladins (0-11-3).
Just two minutes into the game forward Nyema Cheljahn (Toronto) found the ball close in RMC territory and netted his second goal of the season to give the Rams an early 1-0 lead.
The Rams continued to get their chances in the Paladins end and doubled their lead in the 10th minute when forward Vince D'Elia (Maple, Ont.) gathered in a pass and found the back of the net with a strong kick to make it 2-0 Ryerson.
Jagjit Saran (Brampton, Ont.), playing in his first game of the season in net for Ryerson, was tested just once in the first half but came up with a spectacular save when a Paladin forward got his head on the ball off an RMC free kick. Saran managed to punch the ball out of harm's way to preserve the two-goal lead for Ryerson heading into the half.
The Rams came out strong in the second half and had a few chances before Armin Tankovic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) increased the lead to three in the 67th minute. Tankovic gathered the ball just above RMC's 18-yard-box and wired a hard shot past a diving Dorrington and into the net to give Ryerson a 3-0 lead.
RMC tried to stage a bit of a comeback but couldn't get much going with Ryerson playing strong defence. First-year keeper Aaryon Gaeeni (Toronto), who replaced Saran at halftime, came up with a big save off a Paladins corner kick to preserve the shared clean sheet.
With the win, Ryerson's record improves to 5-4-5 to end the season, a season-best for the Rams. They begin their playoff run by taking on the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday.
YORK 3, WESTERN 0
Three second-half goals made the difference for the No. 2 York Lions (9-2-3) as they shutout the Western Mustangs (4-6-4) 3-0 on Sunday.
The Lions took to the field looking for a victory against Western to ensure they stayed ahead of Windsor in OUA standings, and with no goals in the first half, it looked to be a tense second half.
One minute after the whistle blew to start the second, Jarek Whiteman (Brampton, Ont.) eased the tension as he put the Lions ahead 1-0.
York continued to increase its lead over the Mustangs with a second goal in the 75th minute from Dominic Antonini (Winnipeg) and a late goal in injury time by Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.).
Veteran goalkeeper Alim Karim (Scarborough, Ont.) finished his season undefeated and with a fifth straight clean sheet. The Lions finished one point ahead of Windsor despite the Lancers' win over Guelph.
By virtue of their first place regular-season finish, the Lions get a rest until Oct. 31 when they host a quarter-final match. Western visits Waterloo on Wednesday Oct. 28 to compete in a first-round playoff game.
WINDSOR 1, GUELPH 0
The No. 9 ranked Windsor Lancers (8-1-5) completed their impressive 2009 regular season with a 1-0 victory over the Guelph Gryphons (6-7-1) on Sunday at Alumni Field.
Windsor's Mike Watson (Belle River, Ont.) recorded the game-winner.
With the victory, Windsor finishes the regular season with an 8-1-5 record and only a point back in the standings behind the No. 2 ranked York Lions.
Windsor will now receive a bye in the first round of the OUA playoffs and will host the highest remaining seed on Saturday at Alumni Field.
Guelph hosts the McMaster Marauders on Wednesday in their first playoff game.
BROCK 4, LAURIER 0
The Brock Badgers (2-10-2) ended the regular season with a 4-0 victory over the defending OUA champion Golden Hawks (3-6-5). With the victory, the Badgers also ended Laurier's 2009 playoff hopes.
Scoring for the Badgers were Tomislav Leko (Mississauga, Ont.), Andrew Nimtsiv (Courtice, Ont.), Nick Ianeri (Hamilton, Ont.), and Aldo Lombardi (Ancaster, Ont.).
In goal Ryan Toale recorded nine saves for his first shutout of the season.
WATERLOO 3, MCMASTER 0
The Waterloo Warriors (6-5-3) handily beat the McMaster Marauders (6-7-1) 3-0, vaulting them into third-place in the OUA West.
Bobby Colorado (Kitchener, Ont.) and Chris Lam (Guelph, Ont.) scored in the first half, and Colorado added his second of the game in the 65th minute as the Warriors blanked the visiting McMaster Marauders 3-0.
Mike Saccone (Aurora, Ont.) earned his second shut-out win on the weekend.
Both teams next take to the pitch on Wednesday for their first playoff matches. The Warriors host the Western Mustangs and the Marauders visit the Guelph Gryphons.
Source: OUA Communications with files from Carleton Ravens, Toronto Varsity Blues, Trent Excalibur, Guelph Gryphons, Windsor Lancers, Ryerson Rams, York Lions, Waterloo Warriors
The Ravens played one of their strongest matches of the entire campaign after spotting Queen's an early goal by Mike Arnold (London, Ont.). After that the Ravens dominated the remaining 83 minutes scoring four unanswered goals and seeing veteran goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa) stop a Queen's penalty kick.
Carleton's Cake Simrooglu (Izmir, Turkey) tied the match at the 25th minute of play and Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) scored his sixth goal of his rookie season at the 39th minute to give Carleton a 2-1 halftime lead.
In the second half, Carleton kept controlling the midfield which led to Jonni Okai (Ottawa) scoring his team leading seventh goal of the season at the 59th minute of play.
The Ravens continued to pressure Queen's resulting in a penalty shot at the 61st minute and Simrooglu made no mistake, blowing it by Queen's goalkeeper Jon Rogers (Calgary) who was placed in the Gaels net for the second half.
The Gaels have a bye through the first-round of playoffs and the Ravens host the Nipissing Lakers in first-round playoff action on Oct. 28 at 2 p.m.
TORONTO 5, RMC 0
The No. 5-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues (11-1-2) continued their dominance in the OUA East, soundly defeating the RMC Paladins (0-11-3) by a score of 5-0 on Saturday at Varsity Centre.
Alexander Raphael (East York, Ont.) set the pace early with his seventh goal of the season to put the Blues up 1-0 in the first four minutes of the contest. Scott Nesbitt (Scarborough, Ont.) would find the back of the net in the 27th minute, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Varsity Blues did not let up in the second half. Leading scorer Nordo Gooden (Kingston, Jamaica) tallied his eighth goal in the 48th minute to put the Blues up by three.
Goalkeeper Jhordan Dorrington (Mississauga, Ont.) would have to make several saves just to keep the score respectable for the Paladins. However, Fanny Bay B.C. native Dylan Bams and Mario Nallira (Toronto) each added a goal late as the Blues came away with a convincing 5-0 victory.
With his goal, Gooden moves into a tie for first place in the OUA scoring lead, with Raphael right behind him in second.
The No. 5 Varsity Blues finish the regular season atop the OUA East, with an impressive 11-1-2 record. Earning a preliminary-round bye, Toronto will host an OUA East quarter-final game on Saturday at Varsity Centre.
TRENT 2, LAURENTIAN 1
The Trent Excalibur (3-8-3) earned a 2-0 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs (6-6-2) in OUA East action in Peterborough, Ont.
Trent came out playing with intense speed and determination early in the game, with Thaddeus Bolton (Bowmanville, Ont.) and Cromwell Damile (Toronto) both notching goals for Excalibur.
Laurentian's Stephen Fattore (Brampton, Ont.) netted one for his side, bringing the game to a 2-1 victory for Excalibur.
Laurentian hosts the Ryerson Rams in first-round playoff action on Oct. 28.
WESTERN 2, GUELPH 1
The Western Mustangs (4-6-4) narrowly beat the Guelph Gryphons (6-7-1) on Saturday afternoon.
Western's Ryan Avola (London, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 41st minute, but Guelph's Colin MacMillan (Newmarket, Ont.) answered back in the 53rd minute.
Guelph pressed hard in the second half in hopes of their second victory over Western this season, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Western's Mark Pocrnic was the game's hero, scoring the game winner in extra time.
Western visits Waterloo and Guelph hosts McMaster in first-round playoff matches.
YORK 0, WINDSOR 0
In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams, the No. 2 York Lions (9-2-3) and the No. 9 Windsor Lancers (8-1-5) played to a scoreless draw on Saturday.
The match was another well balanced game with both teams applying offensive pressure throughout the contest.
The Lancers pressed hard in the second half in hopes of their second victory over York on the season, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Keepers Dan Mendonca (London, Ont.) and Alim Karim (Scarborough, Ont.) played well in the match to earn their respective shutouts.
Both teams next take to the pitch on Oct. 31 as they host quarter-final matches.
MCMASTER 0, LAURIER 0
Neither the McMaster Marauders (6-7-1) nor the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (3-6-5) could find the back of the net on Saturday, as they played to a 0-0 tie.
Matthew Grant (Brampton, Ont.) earned the shutout for McMaster, while Jarrett Humphreys (Waterloo, Ont.) and Michael Filipovic (St. Thomas, Ont.) split the clean sheet for Laurier.
McMaster begins their playoff run on Wednesday when they visit the Guelph Gryphons.
WATERLOO 3, BROCK 0
The Waterloo Warriors (6-5-3) earned the right to host a first-round playoff game thanks to a 3-0 victory over the Brock Badgers (2-10-2).
Waterloo striker and Toronto native Leon Latty scored once in the first half and once in the second to lead the Warriors to a 3-0 win.
Bill Bean (Waterloo, Ont.) scored in the 90th minute for the Warriors third goal.
Mike Saccone (Aurora, Ont.) made eight saves and earned the shut-out victory.
The Warriors will face the Western Mustangs on Wednesday at 3:15 p.m.
NIPISSING 0, TRENT 0
On Sunday afternoon, the Nipissing Lakers (2-5-7) and the Trent Excalibur (3-8-3) played to a 0-0 draw.
Nipissing keeper Cory Schwartz (Owen Sound, Ont.) and his Trent counterpart, Josip Bosnjak (Pickering, Ont.), preserved the shutouts.
The Lakers start their playoff run with a match in Ottawa on Wednesday against the Carleton Ravens.
RYERSON 3, RMC 0
The Ryerson Rams (5-4-5) controlled the pace of the game for the entire 90 minutes on Sunday, on their way to a 3-0 victory over the visiting RMC Paladins (0-11-3).
Just two minutes into the game forward Nyema Cheljahn (Toronto) found the ball close in RMC territory and netted his second goal of the season to give the Rams an early 1-0 lead.
The Rams continued to get their chances in the Paladins end and doubled their lead in the 10th minute when forward Vince D'Elia (Maple, Ont.) gathered in a pass and found the back of the net with a strong kick to make it 2-0 Ryerson.
Jagjit Saran (Brampton, Ont.), playing in his first game of the season in net for Ryerson, was tested just once in the first half but came up with a spectacular save when a Paladin forward got his head on the ball off an RMC free kick. Saran managed to punch the ball out of harm's way to preserve the two-goal lead for Ryerson heading into the half.
The Rams came out strong in the second half and had a few chances before Armin Tankovic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) increased the lead to three in the 67th minute. Tankovic gathered the ball just above RMC's 18-yard-box and wired a hard shot past a diving Dorrington and into the net to give Ryerson a 3-0 lead.
RMC tried to stage a bit of a comeback but couldn't get much going with Ryerson playing strong defence. First-year keeper Aaryon Gaeeni (Toronto), who replaced Saran at halftime, came up with a big save off a Paladins corner kick to preserve the shared clean sheet.
With the win, Ryerson's record improves to 5-4-5 to end the season, a season-best for the Rams. They begin their playoff run by taking on the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury, Ont. on Wednesday.
YORK 3, WESTERN 0
Three second-half goals made the difference for the No. 2 York Lions (9-2-3) as they shutout the Western Mustangs (4-6-4) 3-0 on Sunday.
The Lions took to the field looking for a victory against Western to ensure they stayed ahead of Windsor in OUA standings, and with no goals in the first half, it looked to be a tense second half.
One minute after the whistle blew to start the second, Jarek Whiteman (Brampton, Ont.) eased the tension as he put the Lions ahead 1-0.
York continued to increase its lead over the Mustangs with a second goal in the 75th minute from Dominic Antonini (Winnipeg) and a late goal in injury time by Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.).
Veteran goalkeeper Alim Karim (Scarborough, Ont.) finished his season undefeated and with a fifth straight clean sheet. The Lions finished one point ahead of Windsor despite the Lancers' win over Guelph.
By virtue of their first place regular-season finish, the Lions get a rest until Oct. 31 when they host a quarter-final match. Western visits Waterloo on Wednesday Oct. 28 to compete in a first-round playoff game.
WINDSOR 1, GUELPH 0
The No. 9 ranked Windsor Lancers (8-1-5) completed their impressive 2009 regular season with a 1-0 victory over the Guelph Gryphons (6-7-1) on Sunday at Alumni Field.
Windsor's Mike Watson (Belle River, Ont.) recorded the game-winner.
With the victory, Windsor finishes the regular season with an 8-1-5 record and only a point back in the standings behind the No. 2 ranked York Lions.
Windsor will now receive a bye in the first round of the OUA playoffs and will host the highest remaining seed on Saturday at Alumni Field.
Guelph hosts the McMaster Marauders on Wednesday in their first playoff game.
BROCK 4, LAURIER 0
The Brock Badgers (2-10-2) ended the regular season with a 4-0 victory over the defending OUA champion Golden Hawks (3-6-5). With the victory, the Badgers also ended Laurier's 2009 playoff hopes.
Scoring for the Badgers were Tomislav Leko (Mississauga, Ont.), Andrew Nimtsiv (Courtice, Ont.), Nick Ianeri (Hamilton, Ont.), and Aldo Lombardi (Ancaster, Ont.).
In goal Ryan Toale recorded nine saves for his first shutout of the season.
WATERLOO 3, MCMASTER 0
The Waterloo Warriors (6-5-3) handily beat the McMaster Marauders (6-7-1) 3-0, vaulting them into third-place in the OUA West.
Bobby Colorado (Kitchener, Ont.) and Chris Lam (Guelph, Ont.) scored in the first half, and Colorado added his second of the game in the 65th minute as the Warriors blanked the visiting McMaster Marauders 3-0.
Mike Saccone (Aurora, Ont.) earned his second shut-out win on the weekend.
Both teams next take to the pitch on Wednesday for their first playoff matches. The Warriors host the Western Mustangs and the Marauders visit the Guelph Gryphons.
Source: OUA Communications with files from Carleton Ravens, Toronto Varsity Blues, Trent Excalibur, Guelph Gryphons, Windsor Lancers, Ryerson Rams, York Lions, Waterloo Warriors
