AROUND OUA: Kotsopoulos leads Gryphons past Mustangs
LONDON, ON - In 2015, Jace Kotsopoulos stole the spotlight in his rookie season by leading the team with 11 goals. In 2016, Kotsopoulos is proving there will be no sophomore slump. The second year striker scored a pair of second half goals on Saturday afternoon in London to lift the Gryphons men's soccer team past the Western Mustangs. With the 2-0 win, the Gryphons improve to 4-1-2 (wins-losses-draws). The Mustangs fall to 4-2-2.
SCOREBOARD
Guelph 2 @ Western 0
Laurier 6 @ Algoma 0
Ryerson 4 @ Queen's 0
Brock 2 @ Waterloo 1
Trent 0 @ UOIT 1
Toronto 3 @ RMC 1
York 0 @ Windsor 0
Kotsopoulos leads Gryphons past Mustangs
LONDON, ON - In 2015, Jace Kotsopoulos stole the spotlight in his rookie season by leading the team with 11 goals. In 2016, Kotsopoulos is proving there will be no sophomore slump. The second year striker scored a pair of second half goals on Saturday afternoon in London to lift the Gryphons men's soccer team past the Western Mustangs. With the 2-0 win, the Gryphons improve to 4-1-2 (wins-losses-draws). The Mustangs fall to 4-2-2.
After a scoreless first half, Kotsopoulos gave the Gryphons a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 65th minute. He would double the Gryphons with a second goal in the 89th minute to secure the three points for his side. The Burlington native now has four goals on the season, three of which have come in the last three games.
The Gryphons have now taken 10 out of a possible 12 points in their road games this season, and will look to continue the fine form away from home on Sunday when they travel to Windsor to face the Lancers. Kickoff is set for 3:15pm.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Laurier soars to shutout win against Algoma
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. (September 24, 2016) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (4-3-1) men's soccer team travelled north to kick off a two game series against the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-8-1), where Niklas Bauer scored three goals in a 6-0 victory.
The Hawks offensive pressure got off to a quick start. Only six minutes into the game, Brady Kelly (Guelph, Ont.) found the foot of Luca Pietropaolo (Woodbridge, Ont.), who opened the Hawk's offensive burst by tallying Laurier's first goal of the day.
Following up on his lead was Nikola Miokovic of Kitchener, Ont., who scored Laurier's next two goals just nine minutes apart to give Laurier a 3-0 lead midway through the first 45.
Despite their early lead, Laurier refused to take their foot off the gas. With four minutes left in the first half, Bauer, a native of Newmarket, Ont., capitalized on a pass from Michael Warden of Oakville, Ont., to give the Hawks a 4-0 cushion going into the second half.
Algoma's chance of a comeback was put to bed by the last 45 minutes, as they were unable to answer any of Laurier's goals.
In a final hoorah, the last two minutes of the game saw Bauer chalk on two more goals for the Hawks. These tallies not only round out a hat trick for Bauer and solidify his title as Laurier's top goal scorer, but ensured the purple and gold a 6-0 victory against the Thunderbirds.
Thanks to their impressive performances this afternoon, Miokovic and Bauer are now tied as top goal scorers in the OUA, with six goals each. In addition, the two men now have eight points apiece, consequently securing them in a tie for first place in the conference for points.
In goal, Laurier's first year starting goalkeeper, Rocco Strazzella of Woodbridge, Ont., earned his third shut out of the season by making two saves in his 90 minutes of action.
The Golden Hawks look to repeat today's outcome on Sunday, when they play their second straight game against the Thunderbirds. Kickoff is set for 2:15pm at Sault Ste Marie Superior Heights.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Rams' offence brilliant against Gaels
KINGSTON, Ont. - Adam Hemati (Vaughan, ON) scored twice as the Ryerson Rams torched the Queen's Gaels 4-0 at Miklas-McCarney Field in OUA men's soccer action Saturday afternoon. Raheem Rose (Toronto) and Luka Lee (Toronto) also scored to keep the Rams' perfect start to the season intact. The victory bumps their record to 7-0 and puts them back atop the OUA East division with 21 points. Meanwhile, Queen's falls to 4-2-1 and currently sit in fourth.
BOXSCORE
Rose got Ryerson going early. The third-year midfielder fired the ball between the pipes in the 8th minute to give the Rams the early advantage. His OUA-leading sixth goal of the year was a bittersweet moment for the squad though. After depositing the ball into the net, Rose came down hard and had to be helped off the field. He didn't play the rest of the match.
That didn't deter Ryerson. In the dying seconds of the first half, Hemati was taken down by a Gaels' defender in the area and awarded a penalty shot. The Rams' captain made no mistake. His shot sent Ryerson to the break with a 2-0 lead.
The Rams continued to push in the second half. Nick Lambis (Pickering, ON) beautifully touched a ball across to Lee who tapped it into the empty net to make it 3-0. Only a few minutes after that, Hemati's header off a corner kick found its way between the pipes to widen the gap further. His third of the season rounded out the scoring.
Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, ON) stopped five shots for his fifth clean sheet of the season while Queen's goalkeeper Daniel van Woerkens surrendered four goals on ten shots. Through seven games, Ryerson has only allowed one goal and scored 21.
The Rams will look to make it eight straight wins tomorrow afternoon when they take on the last-placed RMC Paladins (0-7). Kick off at Navy Bay Field 5 is scheduled for 3:15 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Badgers defeat Warriors 2-1
ST. CATHARINES, ON - The Brock University men's soccer team picked up their second win of the season as they defeated the Waterloo Warriors 2-1 on the road Saturday afternoon.
Brock's Liam Wilson (St Catharines, ON) got his team on the board first as he beat Waterloo goalkeeper Thomas Modjesch for his second goal of his rookie campaign.
Waterloo evened the game 1-1 in the 39th minute, as Christoph Bruckeder setup Jae Jin Lee, who recorded his team leading fifth goal of the season.
In the 65th minute, Brock's Noah Dino (Niagara Falls, ON) would put home the game winner beating Modjesch for his first goal of the campaign.
In goal, Matt Zaikos (Markham, ON) recorded three saves for the victory. Waterloo's Modjesch collected three saves in the loss.
The Badgers return home next weekend when they host the Windsor Lancers (Oct 1) and Western Mustangs (Oct. 2) in two key OUA West matchups. Both games are scheduled for 3:15 pm at Brock Alumni Field.
Source: Brock Badgers
UOIT beats Trent with last minute goal
OSHAWA, Ont. – Even though the OUA men's soccer playoffs are a month away, teams are already looking at the standings as they jostle for positioning. That is why Fabio Campoli's game-winning goal in injury time on Saturday afternoon was so important for the Ridgebacks as they make their playoff push.
Coming into the game against Trent, UOIT found themselves two points ahead of the Excalibur for the final playoff spot in the OUA eastern conference. Now with seven games remaining in the regular season, UOIT is five points ahead of Trent and only two behind the fifth place Laurentian Voyageurs.
The game opened up with a glorious chance for UOIT's Alexander Cuccovillo (Ajax, Ont.) but the fifth year senior chipped it just over the bar. That seemed to be the theme over the next 90 minutes as the teams entered injury time with no goals on the board.
However, things would quickly change as UOIT capitalized on a fast break when freshman Noah Antenucci (Brampton, Ont.) sent in Campoli (Frosinone, Italy) along the right side of the crease. The education major was able to slip the ball past the defender and goalkeeper to give UOIT the last minute victory. Campoli has recorded five of the eight Ridgeback goals this season.
Campoli's goal was the Ridgebacks lone shot on target. Nicholas Miller of Oshawa made five saves in the shutout victory, his second of the year. Shots ended up 11-10 in favour of Trent.
UOIT (3-5-1) will be put to the test on Thursday night when they square off against the Ryerson Rams (7-0-0). Ryerson is ranked third in the CIS and have outscored their opponents 21-1. Kickoff at the Civic is 8:15 p.m.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Strong first half leads Blues over RMC
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team defeated the RMC Paladins 3-1 on Saturday, September 24 in Kingston, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 5-1-2 and remain in third place in the OUA East division.
First-year defender Nikola Stakic opened the scoring in the ninth minute, notching his first career goal in the Blue and White.
Toronto padded their lead when team co-captain Lukas MacNaughton scored what would stand as the game-winner in the 22nd minute of the match.
Sophmore striker Jack Wadden put the Blues up by three in the 42nd minute, but the Paladins broke the shut out before the first half was up as Karl Russell found the back of the net in the 45th minute.
Blues goalkeeper Mark Rogal made five saves in the victory.
The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow when they take on the Queen's Gaels in Kingston. Game time is set for 3:15 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
