TORONTO STAYS PERFECT AFTER FOUR MATCHES
The Golden Gaels took four of a possible six points in their two matches, drawing 0-0 with the Trent Excalibur Friday in Kingston and then defeating the Carleton Ravens 2-1 the following day. Against the Ravens, the Gaels opened up the scoring in the first half with a goal from defender Wade Ennis. Fourth-year striker Chris Gencarelli eventually bagged the winner, giving Queen's the three points.
Elsewhere in the East, the Ryerson Rams also picked up four points with a 0-0 draw against Nipissing and a 3-1 win over the Voyageurs. Goalkeeper Anthony Volpe made five saves for the Rams for the shut-out, with Swan providing an equal number of stops for the clean sheet in the Lakers' net. Botswana native Moses Kgasa was the hero in the Laurentian win, scoring just seven minutes into the match to give Ryerson a 1-0 lead before adding a second in the 79th minute to put the game out of reach. Radu Melnic had put the Rams up 2-0 in the first half but Laurentian's Daniel Keir scored in the 73rd minute to get the visitors within a goal.
The Western Mustangs are within two points of top spot in the league after a strong weekend that featured a 3-0 win over the McMaster Marauders and 0-0 draw with the defensive-minded Brock Badgers. Western got a dream start against Mac as third-year player Derrick Battin scored in the eighth minute to establish an early margin. Battin's goal was all that they needed, though the Mustangs added two more second-half strikes from Karim Ben Sari and Michel Daoust, who scored his second goal of the young season. Haidar Al-Shaibani made three saves to collect the clean sheet. The Badgers couldn't breach the Mustangs back line the following day as they manufactured just two shots on Al-Shaibani, both of which he stopped. Badgers' keeper Chris Cutaia continued his stellar play in net as he made six saves for another clean sheet, his fourth of the season in four matches. Cutaia made six stops the day prior in a 0-0 draw with the Windsor Lancers. Fifth-year goalkeeper Brad Harwood made seven saves for the Lancers for his own clean sheet.
The Marauders rebounded from their loss to the Mustangs with a 2-1 road win over Windsor. McMaster's Ryan Zak opened the scoring with a first-half strike before third-year defender Justin Vespa extended the lead to two goals in the second half. Kwame Owusu-Ofuri replied for the host Lancers, scoring his first goal of the year. Richard Maggiolo recorded the win in the Marauders' net.
The Guelph Gryphons took four of six available points after drawing the Laurier Golden Hawks 1-1 Saturday and then following that result up with a big 4-1 win over the Waterloo Warriors. Nicholas Cairns scored in the 20th minute as the Gryphons established an early lead over Laurier but the Hawks responded with a goal from Damir Hadziavdic in the 60th minute. Hadziavdic led all Laurier players with eight goals in 10 matches last season. Guelph had much more offensive flow against the Waterloo Warriors Sunday as the Gryphons raced out to a 4-0 lead, including first-half goals by Dan Price Owen, Colin MacMillan and team scoring leader Chike Agbasi. Ferdinando Serpe added another just after the break before Christian Rosa got the hosts on the scoresheet with a goal in the 55th minute. Rosa, a third-year midfielder from Toronto, Ont., also had the match winner in Waterloo's 3-1 victory over the York Lions Thursday. David Nagaro leveled the game for York at 1-1 after Kamil Mroczek had grabbed a lead for the Warriors in the 20th minute. Rosa scored in the 37th minute and Payman Charkhzarin added another in the 70th for the final two-goal margin.
York dropped their fourth straight out of the gate after going down 1-0 to Laurier Sunday. The game was scoreless as added time approached but the Hawks' rookie defender Matthew Smith scored in the 87th minute to steal the win.