M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: McMaster, York each have seven wins
September 21 – McMaster @ Brock
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's soccer team (0-6 OUA West) battled to the end against the No. 5 ranked McMaster Marauders (6-1-0), but dropped a 2-1 decision Friday afternoon at home.
The match got off to a head rushing start with both teams moving up their lines and pressuring up the pitch. Despite inconsistent possession from both sides, it was McMaster, who would notch the first goal in the 16th minute through a Mark Reilly lob over Brock starting goalkeeper Jake Sweetzer (Mississauga, Ont).
However, it would be Sweetzer himself who kept the Badgers in the game after denying McMaster on three consecutive occasions, keeping the score 1-0 at the half.
The second half turned into a physical contest with both teams fiercely tackling each other.
Reilly would put McMaster up 2-0 in the 72nd minute, registering his second of the game and fourth this season.
Despite conceding again, the Badgers kept their fighting spirit and deservedly grabbed a goal via Sammy Orlando (Woodbridge, Ont) who scored on a penalty shot in the 83rd minute after being taken down.
In goal, Sweetzer recorded six saves in the loss. The Marauders starter Angelo Cavalluzzo added one save for his OUA leading sixth victory of the season.
Source: Brock Sports Info
York @ Western
The Western Mustangs were back where they belong this evening, under the bright lights of TD Waterhouse stadium as they played the York Lions and came away with a 1-1 draw.
Entering tonight’s game the Mustangs were looking at a challenge. Thus far York had been undefeated and they have scored twenty goals and allowed only four.
Western’s Dominic Bell and Pat Mroczek are among the top twenty scorers in the league, but weren’t allowed much of an opportunity to demonstrate their prowess last night.
Rookie Stevie Ray Reid stepped up in lieu of absentee Captain Andrew Walton. Reid played a solid game making smart split-second decisions and he even embarked on a run up the right wing to assist Dominic Bell in an unsuccessful attempt at a goal.
Another standout was Matt Elias. For a smaller player, Matt Elias compensated with fiery determination. When he kicked a ball it sailed from his right foot as if it was charged by a pocket battery. He did some crafty work in the corners, but up against York, the number one team in the pool, his efforts were in vain.
Transfer player Dan Cameira served a purpose as playmaker, flicking ball after ball into the York half, serving as the catalyst for Western goal attempts.
York’s assistant coach was kicked out of the game at 33 minutes.
It was a fast-paced game with a lot of communication that could be heard as high as the media box. Suffice to say, the vernacular was colorful, and the tenacity unmatched by any previous Western game this season.
York scored their first goal at 36 minutes. From that point forward York kept the pressure in the Western half, weaving around the Mustangs, which automatically demanded excellence of goalkeeper, Ivan Skoko. At one point Skoko reached his arms above the goal and at six foot four this was an easy feat. He jumped not once, but a second time for the catch, answering York’s pressure on the Western net with a shutdown. “It’s his year, he’s got terrific range, great hands, and it is his time to shine”, said Goalkeeper coach Gary Gorham.
At the end of the first half York led 1-0.
In an exciting turn of events, Western’s Dan Cameira scored the first goal at 52 minutes. Western and York tied at 1-1.
Thirty-five minutes in, the referee warned York player Charlie Trafford, but no cards were given. York began dominating and the Mustangs used Matt Elias' experience on the defensive side.
Rookie Christian Douglas was unable to break through the Lions defense suggesting that perhaps he’d finally met his match. If there is a rematch that will be one duel to watch, Douglas versus York’s defense. Douglas will certainly play with a vengeance next time.
York player, Arthur Casupanan received a yellow card at 73 minutes.
The last twenty minutes were played in the rain. With the addition of another element, the rain made an already tough game even more complex. Western fared incredibly well, especially because they were up against the first place team in their pool. The game was exciting and the crowd morale remained high.
Source: Western Sports Info
September 22 – Nipissing @ Queen’s
KINGSTON (September 22, 2012)- The Queen's Gaels men's soccer team fought off the Nipissing Lakers (2-1-2) with a strong second half push as they came away with a 1-0 victory in OUA action at the West Campus Field, Saturday.
In the first half it was Nipissing who appeared marginally ahead, firing four shots on Queen's goalkeeper Dylan Maxwell (Vancouver, B.C) and earning four corner kicks. Maxwell stood tall in goal in the first half, allowing the Gaels to remain on equal terms with the visitors
Queen's came out on a mission in the second half, playing strong offensively and putting eight shots on Nipissing's goalkeeper Andrew Richard (St. Catharines, Ont.). The Gaels' offensive efforts finally paid off in the 72nd minute when mid-fielder Henry Bloeman (Toronto, Ont.) put in the cross ball off a well-placed Kristian Zanette (Thunder Bay, Ont.) throw-in.
The Gaels continued to push offensively, firing three more shots on Richard. The ball rarely seemed to cross into Gaels territory in the second half, and when it did the Lakers' shots all sailed wide or high. Maxwell did not see much action in the second half stopping only one shot to solidify his fourth shutout of the season.
Queen's coach Chris Gencarelli was impressed with his team's efforts and complimented the team's ability to “grind out offensively in the second half”. Defensively, however, Coach Gencarelli believes his team needs to be more “compact”.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Laurier @ UOIT
The UOIT Ridgebacks men’s soccer team came up short on homecoming Saturday afternoon as they were shutout by the Laurier Golden Hawks 1-0.
Laurier scored the game’s lone goal off a Ridgebacks defensive miscue, as Adrian Bucksam scored at the 62 minute mark, his first goal of the season.
Travis Martin made his first start in net for the Ridgebacks, making eight saves on nine Laurier shots on target. Brett Harrington stopped shots from Franko Bebek and Daniel Haneo of UOIT for the Golden Hawk clean sheet.
UOIT has dropped their last two games by a score of 1-0. Laurier is undefeated in their last six games and sit in third place in the western conference standings with a 4-1-2 record.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Carleton @ Trent
The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team traveled to Trent University on Saturday and came home with a 5-1 victory.
Goals by Andrew Latty and Alex Despotovic in the first half settled the team down on a blustery cold day.
Despite some questionable officiating, the Ravens scored another 3 goals in the second half through Andrew Latty , McKonen Lovemore-White and Joey Kewin ( 2 )
This brings Latty’s total to 11 goals in 7 matches.
The Ravens record now stands at 6 wins 1 loss.
Source: Carleton Athletics
Brock @ Waterloo
The Warrior men's soccer team found their first win and points of the season as they topped the Brock Badgers 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Warrior Field.
The Waterloo squad has been playing solid soccer their last few games but have not been getting desired results. Today, however was a different story as the black and gold would capitalize on their chances to secure the three points.
Stuart Mackie (Kitchener, Ont.) finally got the monkey off his back with his first goal as a Warrior which surely made coach and father Peter Mackie proud. Mackie potted home the opening goal of the game in the 28th minute.
Midfield play would result for the remainder of the half as Waterloo held the slight 1-0 lead heading into the second.
Second year defender Matthew Cyr (Barrie, Ont.) added to Waterloo's lead in the 75th minute which was also his first marker as a Warrior.
The visiting Badgers were determined to get back in the game with several quality opportunities on net but Warrior keeper Hansel Paico-Avilez (Oakville, Ont.) was equal to the task.
Brock was able to cut into Waterloo's lead in the 84th minute as Omar Hamadi (Oakville, Ont.) slipped one past Paico-Avilez, but it was not enough as the home side prevailed with the 2-1 win.
Source: Waterloo Sports Info
Guelph @ Windsor
The Gryphon men’s soccer team struggled on the road this Saturday and were defeated by the Lancers, 1-0 at Alumni Field.
The loss drops the Gryphons to 2-4-0 in the OUA West standings and boosts the Lancers to 4-2-1.
The Lancer men had an even first half against the Gryphons. With the rain stopping for the afternoon, both teams had an even match with the ball on either side of the field for equal amounts of time.
Lancers goalie Dejo Olabegi kept the Lancers going by making some excellent saves. An injury for Guelph’s Mohammad-Ali Heydarpour put the game to a halt momentarily, but the momentum quickly picked up, ending the first half of the match 0-0.
The second half of the game started off much like the first with both teams putting in amazing effort to keep the ball alive. With other small injuries from both teams, the game was intensified by the minute.
Eric Cirovski finally gave the Lancers the goal they needed, capitalizing on a beautiful pass by Joe Comaj with only seven minutes left in the game.
The Gryphons were unable to convert any scoring attempts and would suffer a 1-0 loss to the Lancers.
Source: Guelph Athletics
September 23 – Laurentian @ Queen’s
KINGSTON, Ont. - The No. 7 Queen's Gaels men's soccer team kept their undefeated season alive, fighting off the Laurentian Voyageurs with a strong second half push as they came away with a 1-0 victory in OUA action at the West Campus Field on a windy Sunday afternoon.
The first half was evenly matched with both teams firing four shots each, but neither team was able to connect and remained off the score sheet. In the 24th minute, a Voyageur was taken down just outside the 18-yard box, resulting in a yellow card for the Gaels' Marco D'Elia (Newmarket, Ont.). But the Gaels caught a break as Laurentian captain Davor Alisic (Charlottetown, P.E.I.), sailed the free kick high over the top of the net.
Queen's came out strong out of the gate in the second half, playing strong offensively and putting up nine shots and four corner kicks. The Gaels were finally able to capitalize on an opportunity in the 63rd minute when striker Chris Michael (Ottawa, Ont.) picked up a through pass and chipped it over the Laurentian goalkeeper, Matt Goerge (Georgetown, Ont.), as he came out of his net. The lone goal is all the Gaels needed as they hung on to win the nail-biter 1-0 over the visiting Voyageurs.
Laurentian had a couple great chances right in front of the net in the final minutes, but just could not put one past Gaels goalkeeper, Dylan Maxwell (Vancouver, B.C.), who put on another stellar performance to earn his fifth shutout of the season and Captain Joe (Toronto, Ont.) played strong defensively for the Queen's backline.
The Gaels (6-0-1) will travel to Ottawa, Ont. and put their undefeated season on the line against the Carleton Ravens on Wednesday. Kick-off is set for 6:15 PM.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Toronto @ Ryerson
TORONTO - On Sunday afternoon, the Ryerson men's soccer team beat the University of Toronto 2-1, ending an almost 17-year span without a win against their downtown rivals.
Their last win over U of T came on Sept. 27, 1995, but four days before the ominous anniversary, the Rams [4-1-2] finally bested their white whale.
"U of T and Ryerson, it's like when the Habs and the Leafs play," associate coach Filip Prostran said. "It's always competitive, it's always close and filled with emotion and intensity. U of T has always been a strong team, but today, our guys performed well."
Ryerson's top scorer, Armin Tankovic, drew first blood on Sunday. The veteran forward made no mistake on the Milos Scepanovic cross, heading in his fourth goal of the season in the 17th minute.
Scepanovic added a marker of his own in the 30th minute, firing a low shot past the Toronto keeper.
The Rams have lacked offensive firepower this season, but again relied on their stingy defence to lead them to victory. Through seven games, the Rams have only conceded five goals.
Toronto's only marker on Sunday came via a Darragh McGee penalty kick in the 93rd minute.
"We just held it down," defender Michael Jan said. "We scored the first two goals in the first half and they just couldn't break us down."
Jan also made a big save early, clearing a sure goal off the line to keep the game scoreless.
With the win, the Rams extend their unbeaten streak to six games and haven't lost a match since opening night. This marks the fourth straight season the Rams have had an unbeaten streak of six or more games. The high-water mark came in 2010, when the team went on an eight-game run.
"It's something to build on, that's for sure, but it's not something to lose your mind about," Prostran said. "All that means to me is we've done our job defensively. When you can pull off draws and wins, it means you're a good defensive team."
Ryerson now sits in third place in the OUA East standings with 14 points. The Rams next take on the top-seeded Carleton Ravens on Saturday afternoon at Allan Lamport Stadium.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
McMaster @ Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. (September 23, 2012) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team had an important game on their hands Sunday afternoon as they played host to the McMaster Marauders.
The game started off fast paced with a lot of action on both ends of the pitch. Both teams had good scoring opportunities early in the game. McMaster's Garret Mcconville of Ottawa, Ont., had a close opportunity on a shot that deflected just above the cross bar and on the ensuing corne,r Mcconville connected on a header sending it just high once again.
The game would stay scoreless into the second half when Paterson Farrell of Oakville, Ont., would capitalize on a loose ball in front of the Lau rier goal to put the Marauders ahead by one at the 60 minute mark.
Keeper Brett Harrington of Tilsonburg, Ont., played strong into the second amidst an aggressive McMaster offence. However, a scrum between teams at the Laurier goal would lead to Harrington receiving a red card. The red meant Robert Kardaras of Markham, Ont., had to step in as keeper for the remainder of the game.
McMaster's Mark Reilly of Hamilton, Ont., would tack on two goals following the change to round out the scoring. The Golden Hawks were out shot in the game by a count of 17-4.
The loss comes as a blow to the Hawks who had not lost a game since their season opener against the York Lions. The Hawks will look to put this game behind them Friday when they host the University of Waterloo. The game begins at 3 p.m. at Alumni Field.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
UOIT @ Waterloo
WATERLOO, Ont. – Erik Petrovic scored in the 89th minute to lead the UOIT Ridgebacks to a 2-1 victory over the Waterloo Warriors in OUA men’s soccer on Sunday.
Justin Gordon of Pickering, Ont. got the Ridgebacks on the board early as he scored his second goal of the year just two
minutes into the contest.
The Ridgebacks held on to that lead for 78 minutes, until Waterloo was awarded a penalty kick. Waterloo veteran Arman Grewal would beat UOIT goalkeeper Travis Martin, to tie the game up at one goal apiece.
With the game nearing extra time, the Ridgebacks turned up their offensive attack and Petrovic capitalized as he netted his first career OUA goal.
The Ridgebacks dominated the game as they outshot Waterloo 7-1.
This was Travis Martin’s (Port Perry, Ont.) first win in goal for the Ridgebacks.
UOIT (2-6-0) trails Guelph (3-4-0) by three points for the final playoff position in the OUA western conference.
The Ridgebacks will host Waterloo (1-7-0) on Saturday, September 29 at 3 p.m.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
Guelph @ Western
Sunday, the Western Mustangs men's soccer team took on the Guelph Gryphons and lost 2-0.
Captain Andrew Walton was back from his absence last game with a new haircut and something to prove, a vendetta to make up for a game lost. Dan Cameira flicked balls onto his teammates, yet remained the height of field fashion, today, wearing delicate blue gloves.
Seven minutes into the game Western’s Christian Douglas and Pat Mroczek were able to fire a shot into the Gryphons' net, but was just over the crossbar. Guelph’s goaltender, Chad Paparoni, appeared slightly hesitant to come out and challenge for the ball.
Western Goalie Ivan Skoko did a great job of challenging Guelph as they forayed into the Western eighteen.
Twenty minutes into the game Western was dominating Guelph’s defensive end, but in a lucky break at 21 minutes Jared Agyemang scored Guelph’s first goal.
At 27 minutes rookie Stevie Ray Reid hit a firm ball up the right wing, which was flicked on by Pat Mroczek, and through to Christian Douglas. It looked as though all of the moving parts were coming together for Western, but what would have been a great play was foiled by an offside decision.
At 28 minutes Western’s Eric Amato managed to fire a shot on net. The ball however was carried by the wine and sailed just high. Well Amato tried to make a little magic with his fancy footwork he was unable to craft some of his signature “out of nowhere” goals as the Mustangs came up short today.
There was also a new addition to Western’s forward line. Vancouver native Brendan Catliff made his Mustang debut and not a moment too soon. His father John Catliff, former Canadian Soccer League star, was in town. With big cleats to fill, Brendan played a determined game and challenged for his chance to shine. John Catliff beamed with pride under the guise of his Harvard soccer cap and watched son, Brendan Catliff, flick ball after ball toward the net. “I was proud to see my son play for Western and I look forward to seeing him play here for many years," said John Catliff.
Forty minutes in, Skoko hit the ground leaving the net exposed, Stevie Ray Reid came to the rescue with cool cat style, lobbing the ball into the corner.
At the end of the first half Guelph led 1-0.
The second half sent Western’s Rudy James on many runs up the left wing, the Trinidadian soccer sensation propelling towards the ball, but Gryphons' defense was avid in their denial of a cross into the Guelph eighteen.
The rain pouring down, the benched players took cover in the media booth, pressed up against the windows, willing the Mustangs to at least tie it up, 1-1. Alas, Western’s attempts in Guelph’s box were as sporadic as the rain. They were unable to finish on a number of crosses into the box.
At 83 minutes, Jared Agyemang scored Guelph’s second goal after his teammate picked off an errant defensive clearance and fed him the ball.
Next week the men’s team will play Brock at Western’s TD Waterhouse Stadium at 8:15pm on Wednesday September 26th.
Source: Western Sports Info
York @ Windsor
Adrian Pena scored all three Lions goals including the winner in the 76th minute to give the York University Lions men's soccer team a 3-2 victory over the host Windsor Lancers in Windsor, Ont., on Saturday (Sept. 23).
The Lancers, ranked fourth in the OUA West Division, provided some of the toughest competition for the Lions thus far, but the No. 2 nationally-ranked Lions found a way to win to keep their undefeated season intact. The Lions are now 7-0-1 on the year and are the only team in the West without a loss.
Pena, a midfielder from Woodbridge, Ont., put a free kick behind Lancer goalkeeper Dejo Olabegi of Windsor, Ont., to complete the hat-trick after the Lancers had twice tied the contest.
Pena pounced early picking up his first goal in the ninth minute, which proved to be the only goal the teams would register in the first half.
The second half saw the teams trading goals, plenty and often. The Lancers opened the half, with defender Joseph Camaj of Windsor, Ont., scoring in just the 50th minute. Pena put the Lions ahead again, scoring off a free kick just four minutes later. The goal was Pena's ninth of the season, as he sits second place among OUA scorers.
The 67th minute saw the Lancers pull even again, as midfielder Christian Mayorga of Windsor, Ont., beat goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas of Toronto.
Pena's third goal finally gave the Lions a lead they would not relinquish for their seventh win in eight games.
The Lions' managed to earn the win in no small part due to the contributions of Varlokostas and the York defence. Varlokostas made 10 saves in order to preserve the win for the Lions.
The win gives the Lions 22 points and they boast the best record in the OUA standings. They still lead by just one point over the McMaster Marauders.
The Lions will try to get revenge on the Western Mustangs, who earned a tie on Friday night, in their next game on Saturday (Sept. 29) at York Stadium. They will also face the Lancers again next weekend, on Sunday (Sept. 30). Both games will begin at 3:15pm.
Source: York Sports Info
