M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: McMaster wins season opener
September 5 – McMaster @ Waterloo
The Waterloo Warriors fell to the McMaster Marauders 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Warrior Field. The loss drops Waterloo's record to 0-3-0 while McMaster moves to 1-0-0 in what was their first match of the season.
The first half saw McMaster dominate the black and gold with plenty of golden opportunities. Midfield Gersi Xhuti (Etobicoke, Ont.) had three quality chances throughout the first half with two turned aside beautifully by Warriors goalkeeper Hansel Paico-Avilez (Oakville) and the other finding the bar.
Farrell Paterson would solve Paico-Avilez late in the first half after some fancy passing by the visiting side. Paterson fired a perfect shot just over the reach of Paico-Avilez to give McMaster the 1-0 lead into half.
The Warriors came out in the second half determined to turn the momentum and they would do just that. Second year midfielder Robbie Frank (Kitchener) was sent in all alone on McMaster keeper Angelo Cavalluzzo (Hamilton, Ont.) who put up the wall to make a spectacular save.
Several minutes later Nicholas Kravanas (Markham, Ont.) was left unmarked following a Warrior cross but would send the header wide.
Waterloo would eventually find the equalizer with a long distance boot from midfield Andi Kararaj (Toronto) at the 60th minute, the first goal of the season for Waterloo.
The Warriors would have several chances to take the lead but could not capitalize on their chances giving Xhuti a chance to make amends for his first half chances. He would make no mistake putting one past Paico-Avilez at the 79th minute before adding his second of the game four minutes later to hand Waterloo the 3-1 loss.
Waterloo look to get into the win column for the first time on Sunday when the host the Laurier Golden Hawks at 3:15pm while McMaster entertains Windsor on Saturday.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Brock @ Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team played host the the Brock Badgers Wednesday night in their first home game of the season. The Hawks, coming off a split weekend on the road with a loss to York and a win against Guelph, looked to improve their record to 2-1.
The Hawks started the game strong with multiple scoring opportunities in the early minutes including two chances by Laurier striker and Markham, Ont., native Robert Kardaras. The Hawks continued their pressure on the Brock squad and in the 21st minute Cameron Stephan of Brantford, Ont., scored the opening goal of the game and his first in the OUA.
That goal would carry the Hawks through half-time and into the second half as they continued to put pressure on the Badgers. Late in the second half the Badgers started pressing the Hawks but a strong defence and a solid performance from keeper Brett Harrington of Tillsonburg, Ont., helped the Hawks maintain their one goal lead.
The tension of the one goal game continued into stoppage time until Kardaras, who had been unsuccessful on several attempts through the night, was able to earn his first goal of the season and make the final score of the game 2-0. The win also gave Harrington his second straight shutout.
The Golden Hawks hope to add another win Saturday when they visit the 0-3 Waterloo Warriors. The game starts at 3:15 p.m. on Warrior Field in Waterloo.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Trent @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The Ryerson men’s soccer team cruised to a 3-0 win over the Trent Excalibur to earn their first win of the season Wednesday night at St. Michael's College.
The Rams [1-1-0] got a solid effort from both their starters and bench and sent the fans away happy in their home opener.
“What I liked most was the balance I saw in our team,” Associate Coach Filip Prostran said. “We made a lot of changes at half and usually the play goes down when you take guys off the bench, but it really went up today."
“It’s good to see that we are deep,” he added.
First-year midfielder Milos Scepanovic put the Rams up 1-0 in the 27th minute, getting behind the Excalibur defenders before he buried the ball into the corner. Scepanovic’s early marker held up for another 63 minutes as the game-winning goal and was also the first goal of the men’s soccer season.
“We’re happy with the win,” Scepanovic said. “To come back after the loss against Carleton, everything is going well. We’re looking forward to our next game.”
Armin Tankovic (55th minute) and Luka Lee (66th minute) provided the insurance for the Rams and dropped the Excalibur to 0-2-1 on the season.
“We had a strong start and we followed through the whole game,” Tankovic said. “Physically we came ready to play and we didn’t sleep for a second. We went hard all the way.”
Goalkeeper Christian Maraldo had a strong showing in net, neutralizing Trent’s chances and not allowing them to build momentum. It was his first clean sheet of the season and he finished last year with four.
“He owned the box,” Tankovic said. “Every ball in the air was his. He was a leader on the field.”
For his efforts on Wednesday, Coach Prostran said that Maraldo will be his starter on Saturday afternoon when the Rams take on the Queen’s Gaels. That game gets underway at 3:15 p.m. at Allan Lamport Stadium.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
