SCOREBOARD

UOIT 1 @ Toronto 1

Trent 0 @ Ryerson 4

Algoma 0 @ Western 3

Laurentian 2 @ Queen's 4

Nipissing 4 @ RMC 0

Brock 1 @ Laurier 3

Guelph 4 @ Waterloo 0

No. 7 Blues stretch unbeaten streak to four with 1-1 draw

The No. 7 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw with the UOIT Ridgebacks Sunday (Sept. 4) afternoon at Varsity Stadium, stretching their current undefeated streak to four games to begin the 2016 OUA regular season.

U of T opened the scoring just before the first half whistle in the 44^th minute. Moments after being taken down on a hard tackle, fourth-year striker Nirun Sivananthan bounced back to his feet to rally a loose ball and slicing through the Ridgebacks defence sent a looping effort over the outstretched hands of UOIT goalkeeper Nicholas Miller.

Toronto would continue with immense pressure and dominating posession but a strong counter-attack in the 65th minute provided a clean run for Ridgebacks forward Fabio Campoli who capitalized to draw even with the Blues.

Varsity Blues goalkeeper Mark Rogal was rarely challenged in the contest recording one save.

Miller made five saves in the draw.

Toronto will now have a week to prepare for the Carleton Ravens as they travel to Ottawa on Saturday, September September 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Rams earn fourth clean sheet win

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams men's soccer team won their fourth straight game on Sunday afternoon, shutting out the Trent Excalibur 4-0 at Monarch Park Stadium.

BOXSCORE

Coming into the match the Rams had goals from just three players, but it became more of a committee on Sunday as Adam Hemati (Toronto), Kyle Stewart (Kingston, Jamaica) and Matthew Isabella (Brampton, Ont.) score their first goals of the season.

It was Hemati who opened the scoring in the 16th minute when he was sent through by Isabella and Hemati finished on the partial breakaway.

Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.) netted his fourth of the season to double the Rams lead in the 35th minute before Stewart headed home his first of the season from a corner kick in the 41st.

The Rams led 3-0 at the half and continued to dominate possession and scoring chances. Isabella converted for his first OUA goal in the 62nd minute to round out the scoring.

Ryerson outshot Trent 26-5 in the game and Ali Ghazanfari (Stouffville, Ont.) made two saves for his first win of the season.

The Rams (4-0-0) will return to the field on September 11 when they face the Carleton Ravens in Ottawa.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Mustangs capture fourth straight win with 3-0 victory over Algoma

LONDON, Ont. - Parker Seymour scored the game winner for the Mustangs with a well-placed penalty kick twenty minutes into the first half, but Western would put up another two goals before the final whistle to defeat the Algoma Thunderbirds 3-0 Sunday afternoon.
 
With their fourth consecutive win, Western's record sits at 4-1 to lead OUA West. Algoma remains in ninth, sporting a 0-4 record after Sunday's contest.
 
"We focused on our tactical qualities, in terms of being able to finish when we get opportunities," said head coach Rock Basacco when discussing the game plan heading into the match. "We made some changes in the lineup, got in some guys who haven't played very much - it worked out very well for us. We capitalized on the chances we had, it was good."
 
The first half of the game saw more aggressive play coming from Algoma than yesterday, with netminder Ben Cowman seeing an increased amount of traffic in the box throughout the first 45.
 
On the other end of the field Algoma's Nicholas Palazzi was kept busy with seven shots on goal – three of which connected with the mesh. First came Seymour's game-winning goal, which he quickly followed up with a second goal off a cross from Ahmed El-Houni.
 
"Ahmed took a good touch down the wing, beat a guy, and luckily he saw me running at the back post and played a really good ball," said Seymour when asked about the play leading up to his goal.
 
"Parker is probably one of the top players on our team," noted Basacco. "He always gives you that creativity, that movement on the ball that not every player has. We're very pleased with how he played today."
 
Chuka Ononye would record the final goal of the half, sending the ball past Palazzi with a header with five minutes to spare.
 
"Yesterday we had a ton of chances but found it hard to score," said Seymour. "Likewise, today we had a ton of chances but we got a couple more [in]. Especially in the first half, that's huge to ease the pressure off us a bit."
 
Western had plenty of opportunities to increase the score in the second half – recording an additional two shots on net - but Palazzi's net coverage kept the Mustangs from adding to the scoreboard.
 
"We created quite a few chances in the second half," said Basacco, "but you've got to give credit to [Algoma's] keeper. He made a couple of outstanding saves."
 
Meanwhile, Cowman stood tall in the Mustangs net to record the shutout.
 
The Mustangs are back in action Sunday, September 11 when they hit they head to Waterloo to take on the Warriors. Game time is set for 3:15 p.m.    
 
"We've had a lot of success against Waterloo, except for last year," said Basacco. "We've got a little bit of a vendetta, you might say. They ended up coming here and beating us which hadn't happened in eight or nine years. When we go play them in Waterloo, we're going to be ready for them."

Source: Western Mustangs

Schroeter picks up three points as Gaels down Laurentian

KINGSTON, Ont. (September 4, 2016) - Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa) scored a pair of goals and picked up an assist in Queen's 4-2 win over Laurentian on Sunday afternoon at Miklas-McCarney Field.

GAME FLOW
The visitors jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Liam Ezzard, assisted by Zach Gallo. The Gaels responded in the 28th minute when Sam Abernathy (Halifax) headed the ball past the Laurentian keeper. The score remained tied at 1-1 into the break.

The Voyageurs gained the lead again 12 minutes into the second half, when Gallo netted one for himself. After that wakeup call, Schroeter and Gaels took over the game. The third year striker scored twice in two minutes to flip the script and give Queen's their first lead of the game. Patrick Van Belleghem (Kenora, Ont.) added an insurance marker with just two minutes to play, finishing a breakaway opportunity after a flick-on from Schroeter.

BY THE NUMBERS
3 - Jacob Schroeter earned three points on two goals and an assist
10 - The Gaels mustered 10 shots on target in the second half
6 - The teams combined for six yellow cards: 4 for Laurentian and 2 for Queen's

UP NEXT
Queen's visits UOIT and Trent next weekend when the Gaels hit the road for the first time in 2016.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Lakers shut out RMC, grab weekend split

It may have taken longer than they planned, but the Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team is in the win column.

After three disappointing games to open the season, including losses to Toronto, Ryerson and Queens, Nipissing came up big Sunday shutting out the RMC Paladins 4-0 in Kingston to grab win number one.

The Lakers bounced back from a tough loss the day before against a solid Queens team.

In their loss to Queens, Nipissing was able to score their first goal of the season and added four more Sunday.

Cody Vaillancourt scored in both games on the weekend while Neil Van De Walle scored on a beautiful free kick and rookie Ryan Roy picked up two goals in the victory.

Grainger Munro picked up the win and the shutout to improve his record to 1-2-0, while the team overall jumped up to 1-3-0.

The final game of their road trip is schedule for next Sunday in Sudbury, where they'll face the Laurentian Voyageurs for the first time this year.

Following that game, the Lakers will return home for games against UOIT and Trent, as they look to put together a winning streak to begin their climb up the standings.

Source: Nipissing Lakers

Gryphons Use Big Second Half to Pick Up Road Win over Warriors

WATERLOO, ON - Sunday afternoon at the University of Waterloo, the Gryphons men's soccer team improved to 2-0-1 (wins-losses-draws) thanks to a 4-0 road victory over the Waterloo Warriors (1-2-0).

The first half was rather forgettable from a Gryphons standpoint. But in the second half, the Gryphons showed why they are one of the top teams in the conference. After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Gryphons poured in four goals in the second half with Tomasz Skublak, Youssef Zaghoul, Chris Jacovou and Alex Zis all find the score sheet.

Despite dominating possession during the opening half, the Gryphons failed to create any consistent scoring pressure and struggled to sustain any real tempo. Early in the second half however, the Gryphons would open the scoring off a corner in the 49th minute when rookie Alex Zis swung in a cross that was headed home by Tomasz Skublak for his second goal of the young season. 

Gryphons head coach Keith Mason made a total of four changes at the half, and it would be one of those substitutes who would stretch the Gryphon lead to 2-0. Second year winger Youssef Zaghoul (Oakville, ON) scored his first goal of the 2016 season in the 60th minute and would continue to make an impact on the match throughout the final half hour as well. In the 84th minute, the Gryphons would produce perhaps their best team goal of the match with several players contributing on a nicely executed counter-attack. Included in that buildup was a nice run by Zaghoul with second year attacking midfielder Chris Jacovou (Toronto, ON) finish off the quick counter by cutting inside and curling home his first goal of the season to make it 3-0 Guelph.

The scoring would be capped off in the 90th minute on a beautifully taken free kick from first year midfielder Alex Zis (Oakville, ON). After the Gryphons were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the Warriors 18-yard box, Zis would step up and deliver a perfectly placed strike past the Waterloo keeper and in for his second goal of the season.

Zis was one of a handful of first year players to impress for the Gryphons on Sunday, with rookie goalkeeper Simon Norgrove (Victoria, B.C.) looking solid in his Gryphon debut in the second half. Fellow rookie Quintin McCleary (Oakville, ON) also impressed as he was filling in at centre back for injured fifth year team captain Justin Springer. Springer's injury is not serious and it is expected the OUA All-Star defender will return to the Gryphon lineup shortly.

The Gryphons are next in action on Sunday, September 11 when they host the Brock Badgers at 3:15pm at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Golden Hawks cruise past Badgers 3-0

WATERLOO, Ont. (September 4, 2016) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team evened up their record at 2-2-0 on the season as they defeated the Brock Badgers 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at University Stadium.

Laurier opened the scoring early when forward Niklas Bauer of Newmarket, Ont., found the back of the Badgers' net after a beautiful pass by his offensive counterpart Nikola Miokovic (Kitchener, Ont.) just two minutes into the contest.  

By maintaining possession through the ensuing plays, the Golden Hawks built off their successful start. The team would extend their lead shorlty thereafter thanks to their leading scorer Miokovic, who skillfully buried an impressive shot in the top right corner of the Badgers net off of a free kick from outside the 18-yard box, earning him his second point of the day.

Adding to the Hawks advantage, Laurier's starting goalkeeper Rocco Strazzella (Woodbridge, Ont.) was a brick wall and did not let any shots by him in the first half, securing Laurier with a 2-0 edge going into the second half. 

Throughout the last 45 minutes of play, the purple and gold were clearly dominating the pitch. With ten minutes left on the clock, Laurier would get a lucky bounce as a scramble in front of the net went off one of the Badgers' players for an own goal, extending the lead to 3-0.

Although Brock was able to find a goal late thanks to Nathan Briglio of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., they would get no closer as the Hawks came away with the win.

Strazella, the Hawks rookie keeper, would finish the afternoon recording three saves to pick up his second win of the year. Matt Zaikos of Markham, Ont., took the loss in goal as he stopped six of the nine shots Laurier fired his way.

The Hawks ended the game totaling an impressive 18 shots on goal, compared to the Badgers 10, a record that may have gained them the momentum they need when they hit the road to take on the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, September 10th at 3 p.m.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks