MEN'S SOCCER WEEKEND ROUNDUP
UOIT Ridgebacks @ Brock Badgers
The Carleton University Ravens men’s soccer team opened its 2010-11 campaign with a 2-0 win over the Queen’s University Gaels Saturday afternoon at Ravens’ Field.
Marc-Anthony Viscosi (Ottawa) tried to make something happen for Carleton as he laid the ball over to Justin Campos (Summerside, P.E.I.), who couldn’t quite make the chip over the keeper’s head.
The last ten minutes of the first saw Carleton putting more pressure in the Queen’s end of the field. Sam McHugh (Russell, Ont.) added to the pressure with a high shot in the top hand corner, which was punched away by Queen’s goalie Max Materne (Toronto). Despite the strong play, there weren’t many scoring opportunities for the Ravens in the first.
The second half saw the Ravens trying to unlock the Queen’s back four and the Gaels trying to bank on their set plays.
With high winds coming over Ravens’ Field, both teams had difficulty switching the field. Success came, however, when Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) capitalized on a throw in and sent the ball over the line and into the net, giving the Ravens a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes to go.
Not long after, the Gaels’ defence switched off, leaving Devan Bruce (Kingston, Ont.) a clean shot in the 18-yard box, to put the Ravens up 2-0. This would mark Bruce’s first goal of the regular season as a Raven.
The Ravens finished the game strong and keeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa) earned the shutout, marking a good start to the 2010-11 season.
Windsor Lancers @ McMaster Marauders
Windsor opened up the season with an impressive 1-0 win over the host Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon in Guelph.
On Sunday, the Lancers finished in a scoreless 0-0 draw against the host McMaster Marauders in Hamilton.
Windsor had ten shots on net, but were unable to capitalize on any opportunities. McMaster was held scoreless on seven shots, as Mendonca earned his second straight shutout in as many games.
Western Mustangs @ Guelph Gryphons
Eric Amato scored both game-winning goals and Andrew Murdoch earned a pair of clean-sheet victories as Western's men's soccer team won a pair of games by 1-0 scores in the opening weekend of OUA soccer action.
The Mustangs edged host McMaster on Saturday (Sept. 4) with a 1-0 victory on Amato's game-winning goal, while Murdoch earned the shutout with three saves.
The next day, Western won another on the road, 1-0 over Guelph, with Amato again providing the scoring heroics in the second half and Murdoch recording his second straight shutout victory.
Ryerson Rams @ Nipissing Lakers
After playing to a scoreless draw on Saturday at Laurentian, the Rams picked up their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory at Nipissing on Sunday. First-year midfielder Sebastian Novais scored his first OUA career goal and the game winner in the 81st minute, converting a cross from 2009 OUA East MVP Alex Braletic. First-year keeper Christian Maraldo made two saves for his first career OUA victory and shutout. Matt Likuski was busy in the Nipissing goal, making 12 saves on the afternoon.
In Saturday's 0-0 tie at Laurentian, goalkeeper Aaryon Gaeeni made one save for his first career OUA clean sheet. Laurentian's David Szczepaniak made four saves for the shutout.
UOIT Ridgebacks @ York Lions
Third-year striker Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.), who finished second in team scoring last season with six goals, gave the Lions all the offence they would need with a goal five minutes into the game and another in the 22nd minute.
Also recording a two-goal game was Moreno Alberti (Winnipeg, Man.), a fourth-year forward and former CIS and OUA rookie of the year award recipient.
Rounding out the scoring with one goal each were Martino Belligero (Toronto), Francesco Catalano (Woodbridge, Ont.) and rookie Alon Badat (Thornhill, Ont.).
The Lions (1-0) picked up right where they left off last season and showed no signs of rust. They were the top offensive team in the OUA West in 2009 with 30 goals in 14 games, and the seven scored on Sunday was the most of any team in the OUA on the opening weekend of play.
Goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto) had an easy afternoon for the win, saving all three shots he faced.
The Lions controlled the ball for most of the game and gave the Ridgebacks few opportunities to get on the scoreboard. They peppered the UOIT net continuously, recording 23 shots in the game while allowing the Ridgebacks (1-1) just five. UOIT goalie Oliver Lietz made six saves in the contest.
Sat. Sept. 4
UOIT, 4 @ Brock, 2
Toronto, 1 @ Nipissing, 1
Ryerson, 0 @ Laurentian, 0
Windsor, 1 @ Guelph, 0
Western, 1 @ McMcaster, 0
Queen’s, 0 @ Carleton, 2
Sun. Sept. 5
Ryerson, 1 @ Nipissing, 0
Toronto, 2 @ Laurentian, 0
Trent, 1 @ Queen’s, 4
Western, 1 @ Guelph, 0
Windsor, 0 @ McMaster, 0
UOIT, 0 @ York 7
5:15 p.m. – Nipissing @ Laurentian
Wed. Sept. 8
8:00 p.m. – UOIT @ McMcaster
8:15 p.m. – RMC @ Carleton
8:30 p.m. – York @ Western