AROUND OUA: Hemati scores lone goal to lift Rams over Blues in season opener
SCOREBOARD
Nipissing 1 @ UOIT 1
Laurentian 2 @ Trent 2
Ryerson 1 @ Toronto 0
Windsor 1 @ Guelph 0
Western 0 @ Brock 1
Algoma 1 @ Laurier 1
Waterloo 0 @ McMaster 6
UOIT ties Nipissing in a heated season opener
OSHAWA, Ont. – It was only game one of the OUA men's soccer regular season but the 1-1 draw between UOIT and Nipissing had a playoff like atmosphere at Vaso's Field on Saturday.
Fast forward to the 74th minute, when a UOIT corner kick deflected off Curtis Apeah (Mississauga, Ont.) to captain Erik Petrovic (Serbia). After a failed first attempt, Petrovic used his back heel to punch the ball by Nipissing goalkeeper Grainger Munro.
Five minutes later, the Lakers sent the ball in the box that was scooped up by UOIT goalkeeper Travis Martin (Whitby, Ont.). A Nipissing player would bump into Martin, causing a scrum in front of the net. One red card for UOIT striker Fabio Campoli (Vaughan, Ont.) resulted from the brush up, who looked to be at first glance just an outsider in the encounter.
From that point forward, the soccer match looked more like a rugby game. Both teams were called for a number of fouls following big collusions and the teams were issued three more yellow cards while Andy Bago of Nipissing received a red.
After a UOIT foul just as the game just entered injury time, Nipissing would level the score as Connor Speers headed the ball behind Martin, who was forced out of position challenging the play.
Despite each team earning a point when the final whistle blew, the hostility between the two benches would continue with the players yelling across the field at one another. In total, the teams combined for 26 fouls and seven cards.
Final shots attempted would finish 11-8 in favour of Nipissing. Martin would end up with 7 saves in the tie.
UOIT will look to get their first win of the season on Sunday against the Laurentian Voyageurs. Laurentian opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Trent this afternoon.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Stalemate marks the beginning of the season for Laurentian men's soccer
The Voyageurs men's soccer team began their season with a 2-2 draw at Trent this afternoon firing off just three shots on goal while allowing five on goalkeeper Duncan Jobson.
The offenses went back and forth throughout the game, each exchanging goals within 8 minutes of one another. The Voyageurs started the attack after first-year midfielder, Evan Stronach, netted a penalty kick in the 18th minutes which was followed by a Trent goal five minutes later. The teams remained scoreless until the 83rd minute when MacKenzy Kropa broke the tie with his first of the season, putting the Voyageurs ahead by one. However, a late goal in stoppage time for the Excalibur knotted the score at 2, ending the game in a tie.
According to head coach Carlo Castrechino, the team will need to play a full 90 minute game in order to push themselves into the win column. They will look to do just that tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Oshawa to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks at 2:15pm.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Blues edged by Rams 1-0 in season opener
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to the Ryerson Rams in their 2015 season opener on Saturday at Varsity Centre.
The game was a rematch of last season's OUA bronze medal match, which U of T won 2-1 (3-1 PK).
Ryerson's Adam Hemati was the lone goal scorer. The third-year midfielder buried a rebound in the 77th minute for the game-winner.
Blues netminder Rab Bruce-Lockhart posted three saves in the loss.
The Varsity Blues return to action next Saturday, September 5 when they travel to Kingston, Ont., to take on the Queen's Gaels. Game time is set for 3:15 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Gryphons fall 1-0 to Windsor in season opener
Guelph, ON – The Gryphons Men's Soccer team lost 1-0 to Windsor on Saturday afternoon in what was the OUA regular season opener for both clubs. The lone goal of the game was scored by Windsor's Jamar Redhead in the 12th minute.
After a strong preseason in which the Gryphons posted a 3-1-1 record, they were unable to find the back of the net on Saturday at the Gryphon Soccer Complex as they were held scoreless. While the Gryphons field a young team with nine first year players on the roster, it was a rookie that would score the decisive goal for the Lancers as first year midfielder Jamar Redhead (Thornhill, ON) opened the scoring early in the first half.
Despite grabbing an early lead, the Lancers were fairly undisciplined throughout as they amassed a total of four yellow cards in the match. In the 66th minute, their lack of discipline would prove costly when Windsor's fourth year midfielder Jack Sargent (Liverpool, England) was shown a straight red card. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, they were unable to solve a 10-man Lancer squad who managed to keep the clean sheet and steal the three points on the road.
The Gryphons will look to bounce back on Sunday afternoon when they play host to the Waterloo Warriors. The Warriors are coming off a tough 6-0 defeat to McMaster on Sunday. Last season, the Gryphons won both of their head-to-head meetings with the Warriors, outscoring them 8-3 over the course of their two games.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Brock men's soccer opens season with 1-0 victory over Mustangs
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's soccer team opened the 2015 OUA season with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Western Mustangs at home Saturday afternoon.
The two teams played an even and aggressive first half which saw three yellow cards issued and Western outshooting Brock 3-0.
With the score tied 0-0 in the 64th minute, Western defender Aaron Schneebell was issued a red card inside the 18 yd box giving the Badgers a penalty kick. Brock freshman Arsen Platis (Stoney Creek, Ont.), the Badgers leading scorer in the preseason, buried the PK into the bottom left corner past Western's Ben Cowman, which proved to be the game winner.
Western's Chuka Ononye was handed a red card in the 75th minute putting them down to nine men.
In goal, Badgers senior Matthew Zaikos (Markham, Ont.) turned aside all five shots he faced for his first career shutout. Cowman collected two saves in the loss.
The Badgers return to action tomorrow at 3:15pm when they host the Windsor Lancers.
Source: Brock Badgers
Marauders hammer Warriors 6-0 to open OUA campaign
Confidence oozed from the Marauders on Saturday as they pumped six goals past the Waterloo Warriors in their OUA opener at Ron Joyce Stadium. Three goals in the span of four minutes staked McMaster to a 4-0 first half lead, and the Marauders added two more to the tally in the second to complete the 6-0 demolition.
Sophomore winger Yunus Mollayev scored a brace in the first half, while Sasha Ricciuti, Marco Gennaccaro, Juan Buitrago and Gersi Xhuti added goals for McMaster. Goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo was rarely tested, but stopped all five of the shots he faced on Saturday.
A lively start greeted the two teams, with each pushing the pace in search of a breakthrough in the opening minutes. Mollayev and Xhuti gave a preview of the fireworks to come in the eighth minute, when the latter very nearly grabbed the game's first goal after a gorgeous give-and-go, blazing his shot just over the bar. A minute later, it was Mollayev who opened the scoring, with Brandon Guttierez this time playing the role of creator, picking out the winger with a pinpoint lob before Mollayev turned and curled an effort just inside the far post.
Danger flared for the Marauders midway through the half as Warrior winger Nic Ribeiro began to find space to operate, twice firing shots Cavalluzzo's way without getting past the McMaster goalkeeper. His inability to level the match was punished in the 36th minute, when Mollayev flirted with the far post yet again, this time controlling a Xhuti header and slotting home.
That goal opened the floodgates for McMaster, as the teams were barely back into regular service when Ricciuti poached a chance along the left wing and rolled a shot past the hapless Waterloo goalkeeper. Gennaccaro piled onto the stunned Warriors two minutes later, driving the visitors' defenders back with a spirited run and shielding the ball before thumping a shot inside the far post. With the onslaught complete, the Marauders took a 4-0 lead into the break and shook up the lineup to introduce several players off the bench.
Personnel changes did little to alter the look of the match, however, and Buitrago potted the game's fifth goal just four minutes into the half. Not to be left out, Xhuti got his name on the scoresheet in the 51st, before the Marauders effectively quieted the match and rode out the heavy victory.
With their first win in the bag, the Marauders now face a considerably stiffer task in a day's time, as the defending OUA and CIS champion York Lions visit Ron Joyce Stadium on Sunday. That conference and national championship rematch gets underway at 3:15 p.m. and is free of charge to spectators.
Source: McMaster Marauders