SCOREBOARD

Western 0 @ McMaster 2

Guelph 4 @ Laurier 0

Brock 1 @ Windsor 1

York 7 @ Algoma 0

Kovasevic pots first career goal as Mac blanks Western

A few moments of offensive flair served to remind McMaster fans of the talent their team has on offer, as the Marauders blanked the Western Mustangs 2-0 to open their season at home on a positive note Saturday.

Playing in his first match as a Marauder, while his new classmates crowded campus on Move-In Day around him, striker Dusan Kovasevic scored his first career goal to open the scoring for McMaster in the 62nd minute. Teammate Yunus Mollayev added to the home side's lead 11 minutes later to complete the scoring on the day.

Saturday's match was closely-fought affair in its opening half, with neither team able to consistently fashion chances in the face of the other's organized defending. The nil-nil score was the fairest outcome when the referee blew to signal the end of the first 45 minutes and bring about the break.

However, it was the hosts who proved to be the stronger side as they emerged from the halftime team talk, and were almost immediately on the front foot. Kovasevic's tally was the payoff of a long-developing trend, as Sasha Ricciuti's initial ball bounced to the rookie striker unmarked to the right of the Western goal, and he easily side-footed home.

Tasting first blood, the Marauders thirsted for more, and began to pressure particularly down the right flank, where Chris Luxton was putting his pace to good use. It was he who engineered McMaster's second goal in the 73rd minute, breaking down the wing and launching an inch-perfect cross that Mollayev controlled and lashed into the far side netting for 2-0.

Looking comfortable in defending their lead, the Marauders were lightly tested for the remainder of regulation, and saw out an encouraging first foray on the opening day of OUA competition.

They complete their weekend on Sunday with a trip to Windsor to rematch their OUA quarterfinal with the Lancers, who they knocked out of playoff contention a season ago. That match is slated to get underway at 3:00 p.m. at the conclusion of the preceding women's match.

Source: McMaster Marauders

Gryphons open season with convincing 4-0 road win over Laurier

WATERLOO, ON -  The Gryphons needed only three minutes to get on the scoresheet in their OUA regular season opener versus Laurier in Waterloo and they would not look back from there as they cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Golden Hawks.

After a sensational rookie season a year ago in which he scored a team-high 11 goals, it did not take long for now second year striker Jace Kotsopoulos to open his 2016 goal scoring account as he found the back of the net three minutes into the contest to get the Gryphons off to a quick start.

The Gryphons would hold on to that one-goal lead until late in the opening half when, off a perfectly measured set piece delivery from fifth year man Ethan Danielli, it would be Tomasz Skublak heading home in the 45th minute to give the Gryphons a 2-0 lead at halftime.

That lead would grow to 3-0 in the early moments of the second half when a Josh Seguin was able to take advantage of a costly mistake by Laurier keeper Ryan Mandryk who misplayed the ball to Seguin who calmly slotted into an open net. The scoring on the day would be capped by rookie midfielder Alex Zis who struck from distance, with a perfectly placed shot from 25-yards out that found its way to the top corner for the first regular season goal of his OUA career.

After the match, U of G head coach Keith Mason pointed towards his team's defensive performance as a key to victory, "Can't say enough about our defenders today. They won every ball, they dominated in the air, and they bullied their opponents in terms of the physical part of the game. We have a lot of years of experience in that back four now, and it showed."

Up next for the Gryphons, a matchup with McMaster on Friday, Septemer 2 at the Gryphon Soccer Complex in what will be the Gryphons 2016 home opener. Kickoff is set for 8:15pm.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Lancers play to 1-1 draw to open 2016 against Brock

The Lancer men's soccer team earned a point in their opening weekend of competition.
 
Windsor opened the season with a 1-1 tie against the Brock Badgers on Saturday at Alumni Field, and closed out the weekend with a 1-0 loss to the visiting McMaster Marauders on Sunday afternoon.
 
On Saturday, Jamar Redhead opened the scoring for the Blue & Gold just seven minutes into the contest. Off a corner kick from Carlos Soares, Redhead is in the goal box to accept the pass and kick it into the net.
 
Windsor played a solid core and moved together as a team causing Brock to use long balls, which didn't allow them to create any scoring opportunities.
 
The Lancers continued to dominate the Badgers defensively throughout the second half, but was unable to capitalize on any of their scoring changes.
 
Brock tied the game in the final minute of play on a penalty kick.
 
On Sunday, the Marauders got on the board halfway through the first half off a penalty kick taken by Yunus Mollayeu.
 
Windsor struggled to create scoring opportunities for themselves, but were able to hold off the Marauders defensively for the remainder of regulation.
 
The team will now head up to Western on Wednesday night and will take on the Mustangs at 8:15pm at TD Waterhouse Stadium.

Soure: Windsor Lancers

Algoma falls to visiting Lions in season opener

The 2016-17 season kicked off this past weekend at home with the Algoma Thunderbirds men's soccer team taking on two-time defending CIS Champions, the York Lions.

Despite being shut out on both Saturday and Sunday, the squad show great improvement defensively from their previous seasons. On Saturday, the team opened the season with a 7-0 loss to the red and white Lions, followed by a 4-0 decision on Sunday. The team allowed three less goals to the CIS Champions than the 2015-16 season and nine less than the 2014-15 season. Offensively, the squad struggled against the dominant Lions, only managing five shots on goal all weekend.

Andrew Johnstone had his debut in net, with 12 saves for the Thunderbirds on Sunday.

Ryan Tefler led York in goals, earning a hat trick over the weekend.

Algoma heads to London, Ontario for Labour Day weekend, where they take on the Western Mustangs on Saturday and Sunday. Game times are 3:00pm on Saturday and 2:00pm on Sunday.

Source: Algoma Thunderbirds