M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Carleton and York start season 2-0

August 31 – Western @ UOIT

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks men’s soccer team allowed four second half goals in their home opener on Friday afternoon as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Western Mustangs at Vaso's Field.

The Ridgebacks got off to a great start as Justin Gordon sent a cross to striker Sebastian Dignoti, who lobbed the ball over Western keeper Ivan Skodo to give UOIT a 1-0 lead after 25 minutes. It was Dignoti’s OUA debut, as he played two seasons with Durham College prior to joining UOIT.

UOIT goalkeeper Matt Caldaroni stopped all six Western shots in the first half.

Western would turn up the offensive pressure in the second half as they fired nine shots of target, four of which resulted in goals.
Dominic Bell would get Western on the board at the 55 minute mark, while Christian Douglas scored the game winner with twenty minutes remaining. Pat Mroczek and Matt Elias scored Western’s third and fourth goal.

Caldaroni made 11 saves for UOIT on 15 shots. Skodo had four saves in his first win of the season. Friday’s contest was a chippy affair with 25 fouls called between the two teams.

Source: UOIT Sports Info

September 1 – Trent @ Laurentian

SUDBURY, ON - Coming off a tough loss against Nipissing, the Laurentian Voyageurs were looking for some redemption Saturday afternoon as they hosted the Trent Excalibur. Despite a shaky start, the men pulled out the victory 3-1 to even their season record at 1-1-0.

The Voyageurs started the game at a pedestrian pace, seemingly a step behind the Excalibur at every turn. Trent capitalized in the 11th minute as Laurentian's back line got caught flat footed, allowing Hamish McPherson (Appleton, ON) to knock one in. That goal, however, seemed to wake up the Voyageurs as Charlottetown's Davor Alisic, fresh off a suspension he received last year in the playoffs, notched his first of the year at the 17 minute mark to draw the teams even.

The physicality increased in the 2nd half as a flurry of yellow cards were given out. Despite the cards, Alisic was able to knock in his second of the game in the 56th minute, giving the Voyageurs a lead for the first time this year. Alisic capped off the hat trick in the 74th minute with a goal from the penalty spot. Trent faught hard to get back into the game and were awarded with a penalty shot of their own in the 80th minute but Voyageurs' 'keeper, Matt George (Georgetown, ON) parried the ball around the post, preserving the 3-1 victory.

The men now head to Ottawa on September 8th to take on the Carleton Ravens at 2:15pm.

Source: Laurentian Sports Info

Windsor @ UOIT

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT Ridgebacks men’s soccer team failed to generate much offence on Saturday afternoon as they were shutout 2-0 against the University of Windsor.

The Ridgebacks only managed to have one shot on target over the course of the game, as Windsor goalkeeper Dejo Olabegi picked up the shutout in the Lancers season opener.

UOIT’s best chance to score came in the second half as midfielder Alex Razimor rang a free kick off the crossbar.

Jamar Kelly scored for Windsor just four minutes into the game as he beat UOIT goalkeeper Matt Caldaroni.

Caldaroni had to leave the match at the 16 minute mark due to an injury and was replaced by Michael Heinrich who made five saves in 74 minutes of play.

Windsor’s Michael Pio beat Heinrich during the 76th minute to add an insurance marker for Windsor.

UOIT will now look to win their first campus cup championship on Wednesday, September 5 as they take on Durham College at Vaso’s Field. Game time is at 8 p.m.

The Ridgebacks next regular season match-up is Friday, September 7 as they visit the Guelph Gryphons.

Source:  UOIT Sports Info

Toronto @ Carleton

OTTAWA, Ont. - A goal against in the opening five minutes was not the way the Carleton Ravens wanted to start the Ontario University Athletics men’s soccer season.

Three second half goals and a 3-1 win over those Blues Saturday at Ravens’ Field more than made up for that early disappointment.

“It was a game of two halves,” Ravens coach Sandy Mackie said following the game.

“The first half I thought was shocking. We were under pressure and they were the better team. We made some changes, put in some first-year boys and it was just a different attitude in the second half.”

Adrian Dannal scored in the fifth minute to give the Blues their early lead, but Ravens ‘keeper Mark Krocko made sure there would be no more celebrating from the blue team.

One of his saves came in the 21st minute when Mario Kovacevic was in alone and Krocko dove in front of a shot for the save.

“That was a turning point and had that gone in we would have struggled,” Mackie said.

In the second half Andrew Latty scored his first of two goals when he got through the defence and slid a shot past Rab Bruce-Lockhart in the 67th minute.

Christophe Laberge-Perreault got his head on a Theodore Lopez de Castilla free kick and gave the Ravens a 2-1 lead in the 75th minute before Latty closed out the scoring with a great chip shot into the back of goal in the 88th minute.

“We went back to basics,” Latty said.

“In the second half we knew that we faster than then, bigger bodied than them and that we could out-pace them. It all just worked.”

Source:  Carleton Sports Info

Laurier @ York

Paramvir Sekhon scored two goals in the first game of the regular season on Saturday (Sept. 1) to lead the York University Lions men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks at York Stadium.

Sekhon (Brampton, Ont.) and the Lions, who led the OUA West with 41 goals last year, wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in their season opener.

In the eighth minute, the Lions were awarded a corner kick that was taken by Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) to the left of the goalkeeper. He fired the ball into the front of the net and straight to Sekhon, who headed it straight into the net to open the scoring.

The Lions increased their lead to 2-0 just five minutes later when Pena went in on net all alone and fired the ball past Laurier goalkeeper Brett Harrington (Tillsonburg, Ont.).

They nearly got their third goal just a few minutes later thanks to another great play by Pena. He had the ball on his feet near the top of the box and flipped a nifty pass over to midfielder Charlie Trafford (Calgary), who went in alone on Harrington. But his shot hit Harrington right in the chest as he fell over and made the save.

It wasn't much longer before the home side got its third goal, and it played out in similar fashion to the first. In the 29th minute Pena was awarded a free kick near the middle of the field. His shot went straight into the front of the net, where Sekhon was again waiting, and he headed in past Harrington to give the Lions a 3-0 lead.

The score remained 3-0 at the half.

The Lions sat back on offence for the first part of the second half, content with a commanding 3-0 lead. But they added a fourth in the 69th minute when rookie Mark Anthony Kaye (Toronto) scored the first goal of his career on a solid shot from right in front of the net.

Sekhon is currently the only player in the OUA with more than one goal scored so far this season. Pena finished the game with one goal and three assists.

Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto) earned the shutout in net with four saves. Harrington also made four saves in the loss.

Source: York Sports Info

Waterloo @ Guelph

The Guelph Gryphon men’s soccer team triumphed over the visiting Waterloo Warriors with a 3-0 shutout against the Waterloo Warriors today (Sept.1) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
 
The game was very evenly matched from the beginning with both teams creating excellent opportunities in a split-possession half.  Many of Guelph’s chances were created by excellent crosses coming from Jared Agyemang (Brampton, ON), Tim Flynn (Scarborough, ON), Paul Manchisi (Oakville, ON) and Drew Gowan (Welland, ON), with Waterloo largely relying on straightforward attacks and corner kicks.

Both Chad Paparoni (Burlington, ON) and Hansel Paico-Avilez were great at preventing many of these opportunities from amounting to anything.  Yet despite the strong Waterloo defence, Flynn was able to capitalize on Warrior miscommunication by scoring the first goal of the season in the 14th minute.
 
With great play calling and organization coming from second year keeper, Paparoni, the Gryphons were able to establish a strong defensive front for the remainder of the first half.  To cap the half off, former CIS Player of the Year Robbie Murphy (Guelph, ON) scored on a corner kick from Flynn in the 45th minute of the half to send the Gryphons into halftime with a solid lead.
 
Maintaining their forward momentum, the Gryphons came out strong in the second half with Agyemang capitalizing on a beautiful cross from Drew Gowan (Welland, ON) in the 53rd to put the Gryphons up 3-0. 
 
For the remainder of the game the Gryphons were able to erect an impenetrable defensive front with defensemen Jacob Stolle (Ottawa), Paul Manchisi (Oakville, ON) and rookie Justin Springer (Burlington, ON) contributing to the inevitable shutout.

Source: Guelph Sports Info

September 2 – RMC @ Queen’s

KINGSTON, Ont. – A balanced attack led the Queen's Gaels to a 5-0 victory over the RMC Paladins in OUA men's soccer league play at the West Campus Field in Kingston, Sunday. The Gaels led 2-0 at halftime, and broke the game open with a pair of goals seven minutes apart in the second half.
 
Eric Koskins (Richmond Hill, Ont.) got Queen's off to a dream start, with his goal in the second minute. Henry Bloeman (Toronto, Ont.) found the net in the 40th minute, giving the home side their 2-0 lead.
 
Joe Zupo (Toronto, Ont.) put the local derby out of reach in the 49th minute, with his penalty kick goal. The Gaels went up 4-0 on a 30-yard wonder-strike by Chris Michael (Ottawa, Ont.) and substitute Andrew Martin closed the scoring in the 81st minute as he put away his own rebound.
 
Dylan Maxwell picked up the shutout in goal for Queen's, making one save. Tobin Semple stopped 12 shots for RMC and took the loss.
 
The Gaels hit the road next week, as they visit Ryerson on Saturday (September 8). Kickoff at Lamport Stadium in Toronto is set for 3:15 p.m.

Source: Queen’s Sports Info

Trent @ Nipissing

The Nipissing Lakers managed another important point in the pursuit of a playoff spot as they came from behind to earn a hard fought  1-1 draw against the visiting Trent Excalibur.

The game got off to a cautious start as both teams gauged out their opponents and shared possession without any team giving in.

The first goal of the game develop from what seemed to be an incident play as Trent was awarded a free kick just passed half however a well placed ball off the head of Trent’s Matt Henchey ricocheted off the bar and cross the line passed a diving Lakers keeper.

 That would be the best of Trent’s chances as the Lakers defence stood tall and limited their opponents chance to the outside and keeper Andrew Richard did the rest.

The Lakers played a patient game and were rewarded in the 43rd minute when first year North Bay native Jean-Michel Paulin collected a loose ball in the 18 yard box and blasted his first goal of the season past a helpless Trent keeper.

The second half was a defensive battle as neither team would give an inch. The Lakers would have the better of the scoring chances however no team could find the mark again and the game would end in a draw.

“I thought our back line did a very good job of limiting Trent’s scoring opportunities today,” said Head Coach Carlo DeVuono. “On the offensive side of the ball I have already seen an improvement over our last game.”

The Lakers will have a week before the y travel to the Nation’s Capital to face the always tough Carleton Ravens.

Source: Nipissing Sports Info

Ryerson @ Carleton

The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team capped off an undefeated weekend on Sunday afternoon at Ravens’ Field with a 2-0 shut-out over the Ryerson Rams.

It was Carleton’s second straight victory during the Labour Day weekend after knocking off the Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 on Saturday.

Ravens midfielder Joey Kewin 10th minute (London, ON.) gave the Ravens a 1-0 lead after converting form just outside the Ryerson goal.

Kewin was left alone in front of a gapping net and made no mistake finding the back of the twine after teammate Andrew Latty (Ottawa, ON) kicked the ball off the crossbar a second earlier.

Latty scored in the 40th minute to double the Carleton lead to 2-0.

The second year Law Major took his time with a loose ball to the left of the Rams net before putting the final touches on his third goal in two games.

“I knew had some time and space near their net but had to make sure I buried it,” Latty said.

With three markers in two games Latty could develop into Carleton’s go- to-guy when it comes to offence this season.

“I may be the tip of the sword but we have to build from the bottom, up and make sure everybody is contributing. These first two games are just a start. The team is definitely coming together.”

Ravens head coach Sandy Mackie will take the six points his team earned this weekend but readily admits there is a lot of work to be done in the upcoming weeks.

“We’ve been training for only a couple of weeks and the lack of practice really showed up in the second half of Sunday’s game,” Mackie explained.

“Latty had a strong game and our goalkeeper Mark Krocko (Ashton, ON.) was excellent. Our back four also played well. Although we did struggle as a team in the second half and if Ryerson had scored early we may have been in trouble.”

The Ravens will be back in action next Saturday, September 8 when they welcome the Laurentian Voyageurs to Ravens’ Field. Game time is 2:15 pm.

Source: Carleton Sports Info

Waterloo @ York

The York University Lions men's soccer team defeated the visiting Waterloo Warriors, 1-0 on Sunday (Sept. 2), capping off a perfect opening weekend on the pitch.

The Lions opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. Adrian Pena, of Woodbridge, Ont., scored shooting low and left on a penalty kick after Lion Charlie Trafford (Calgary) was fouled in the box.

Pena very nearly scored again only five minutes later from a free kick outside the box, but Waterloo goalkeeper Adam Weller, of Keswick, Ont., made an incredible leaping save.

The Lions closed out the first half on a strong note, posting a strong shot off a cross pass and drawing several fouls in the final minutes of the half.

York nearly scored a second goal in the seventy third minute, after a combined passing effort from Pena and Martino Belligero of Toronto leaving Trafford with a wide-open net, but struck the crossbar with his kick.

In what was a predominantly defensive game played mostly in the midfield, the Warriors offense struggled for opportunities despite improving in the second half. The Warriors strongest scoring opportunity came in the 85th minute with Robbie Frank (Kitchener, Ont.), narrowly missing a header just wide of the right post.

York goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas of Toronto was able to save every shot against him earning his second shutout of the season.

With the win, the men's soccer record improves to 2-0-0 on the season. The men's soccer team plays again next Sunday (Sept. 9) at 1pm, against the UOIT Ridgebacks at York Stadium.

Source: York Sports Info

Laurier @ Guelph

GUELPH, Ont. - One day after suffering a difficult lost to nationally-ranked York, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team rebounded to post a 2-0 victory over the Guelph Gryphons.

Dani Patros of Kitchener, Ont., got the Hawks on the board in the 11th minute as his shot trickled past Guelph keeper Chad Paparoni of Burlington, Ont., to give Laurier a 1-0 edge.

Just 11 minutes later, rookie forward Adam Zrebiec of Kitchener, Ont., extended Lauriers lead as he netted his first career OUA goal.

Guelph would make a push to get back in the game but each time they were thwarted by Hawks keeper Brett Harrington of Tillsonburg, Ont. Harrington would wind up making seven saves in the game to earn his first shutout of the season. Paparoni made just one save in picking up the loss.

With the win, the Hawks earn a season-opening split of their two contests on the road and currently sit tied for second in the OUA West division with a 1-1-0 record.

Laurier will look to build on the momentum from this game on Wednesday night as they take to the field for their home opener against the Brock Badgers. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at Alumni Field.

Source: Laurier Sports Info

September 3 – Western @ Windsor

In their home opener on Monday, the Lancers dropped their first contest of the season, falling to the Western Mustangs 1-0 on Alumni Field.
 
Maintaining possession for most of the game, the Lancers could not turn their dominance into goals.
 
A goal late in the game by rookie Mustang forward Christian Douglas gave Western the 3 points. Despite a strong rally by the Lancers at the end, Windsor could not find the equalizer.
 
The Lancers will hit the road this weekend as they take on the McMaster Marauders on Saturday and the Brock Badgers on Sunday.

Source: Windsor Sports Info