OUA Men's Soccer Roundup (Oct. 23)
October 18, 2017
Guelph 2 Waterloo 1
WATERLOO – The Guelph Gryphons men's soccer team should never be accused of 'parking the bus.' The Gryphons will attack until the final whistle goes, an approach that has paid off several times this season for the No. 8 ranked side in the country. It happened again in Waterloo as an injury-time goal from rookie defender Toni Zlomislic helped Guelph steal three points with a 2-1 win over the Warriors Wednesday night.
Guelph (10-3-1) often displays that kind of courage, which is instilled by head coach Keith Mason. With the match tied 1-1 in the 93rd minute, fourth-year midfielder Jalen Noronha threw a ball in from the right sideline that traveled through the area and to the back post, where Zlomislic had set up. The first-year man from Mississauga simply side-footed it home for both the win and the first goal of his OUA career.
"It was another exciting finish," said a relieved Mason, who switched to a 3-5-2 formation in the second half to try generate more offence. "The guys kept fighting until the end. Waterloo defended very well but we were able to get our just reward."
The win guarantees that the Gryphons will finish no worse than third in the OUA West, clinching a home playoff date.
Guelph started fast in the match, grabbing an early 1-0 lead in just the fifth minute. That first goal also came off a throw-in, this time from midfielder Owen Botelho, who found Joshua Seguin for a one-time strike in behind Waterloo goalkeeper Damian Kruschat.
But poor defending on a set piece would cost the Gryphons later in the half. The Warriors won a corner on the left side and a curling ball in found the head of fourth-year midfielder Nicholas Ribeiro, who placed it just inside the left post out of Simon Norgrove's reach.
"We were static," said Mason. "They wanted that more than we did and it gave them life. We had dominated to that point."
The Gryphons wrap up regular season play with back-to-back home matches against Western and Windsor on Saturday and Sunday. Both games begin at 3:15 pm.
Source: gryphons.ca
October 20, 2017
Queen’s 1 Ryerson 2
TORONTO - In true Ryerson soccer fashion, the Rams secured a late victory over the Queen’s Gaels by a final score of 2-1.
Ryerson came out of the gate aggressive and controlled the play through the first 25 minutes of the game. The first goal of the match came off a cross from Rams defenceman Nathaniel Tambakis (Toronto, Ont.), and, after a fumble by the Queen’s keeper, was tapped in by Ryerson’s Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.). Ryerson took a 1-0 lead 11 minutes into the game, and maintained that lead through the first half.
The second half saw an aggressive effort from both sides. A very physical battle persisted through the remainder of the game, and eventually lead to the Gaels’ only goal of the match.
Queen’s scored the equalizer in the 75th minute of the game off a penalty shot. In a game with playoff implications for both sides, it was clear that each team was giving it their best effort.
The Rams were rewarded late in the game by, yet again, Nick Lambis. In injury time, just past the 90th minute, Lambis tallied the goal that pushed the Rams past the Gaels by a final score of 2-1.
“For the last goal, I know [our team] was going to keep pressing,” said Lambis after the game. “The goalie fumbled the ball on my first goal, and I saw him get the ball again and I thought that he might be a little jittery. I went in there, and lucky enough, it popped out to me.”
Though the team ended the game with a win, coach Filip Prostran said that his team could have been better defensively.
“Our defensive shape needs work - we need to be able to hold 1-0 leads, we need to be able to see them out, and not rely on late-game heroics,” said Prostran after the game.
Looking ahead, the Rams will be taking on the Royal Military College in their final game of the regular season on Saturday. Prostran said that his team will need to tighten up defensively against RMC.
“RMC is a hard-working team, and they always come to play against us,” said Prostran. “I think tomorrow, the focus will be on defensive shape and defensive chances, and just being neat and tidy in the back.”
Saturday’s final regular season matchup will take place at Downsview Park at 8:00 pm.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
RMC 0 Toronto 4
The No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team secured a first round bye after defeating the RMC Paladins 4-0 on Friday night (Oct. 20) at Varsity Stadium.
The Friday night win clinched second place in the OUA East for the Blues, who currently hold a 10-2-4 (W-L-D) record, with the Paladins dropping to 0-13-3.
U of T was quick to get on the board with fifth-year captain Lukas MacNaughton drawing a penalty kick from a strong run through the RMC defence. MacNaughton delivered from the spot in the fifth minute to take an early one-goal lead. Later in the 41st minute it was Antonio Ahjert delivering on a strike from the left to make it a 2-0 game in favour of the Blues at the half.
Substituting in at the halftime break, fifth-year striker Nirun Sivananthan added another in the 51st, followed by the final marker of the game from Yousef Helmy in the 80th.
U of T goalkeeper Stefan Dusciuc recorded one save in the clean sheet, while RMC keeper Arman Afkham-Ebrahimi made seven.
The Varsity Blues will end their regular season tomorrow evening (Oct. 21) in a tilt with the Queen's Gaels. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.
Source: varsityblues.ca
October 21, 2017
UOIT 1 Laurentian 0
The Voyageurs men's soccer team opened up an important final weekend at the LU Soccer Field on Saturday. With only four points separating the third to sixth place teams in the OUA East Division, this weekend's matchups are quite significant for all parties as it will determine which schools will be hosting first round playoff games. Before Saturday's tilly, the Voyageurs sat one point ahead of the UOIT Ridgebacks, looking to secure a home playoff game.
The game was a back and forth affair as both teams generated offensive opportunities early, but it was the Ridgebacks who struck first when Erik Petrovic sent a nice header off of a Fabio Campoli corner kick past Voyageurs goalkeeper, Connor Vande Weghe.
The quick tempo provided some exciting action at each end. The Voyageurs were able to generate opportunities in the offensive zone, but could not get away many shots on Ridgebacks goalkeeper, Nicholas Miller. The Voyageurs defensive line shut the door after the 12th minute tally, not allowing the Ridgeback offense much room to move in on Vande Weghe. In the one opportunity they did have, Vande Weghe won the one-on-one battle between the Ridgeback forward and himself, keeping it at a one-goal deficit.
Unfortunately, the Voyageurs offense could not find the back of the net as the game ended in a Ridgebacks 1-0 victory.
The Voyageurs are back in action tomorrow as they look to put themselves in a playoff hosting position in their final matchup of the season against the Trent Excalibur. Game time is set for 2:15pm.
Source: luvoyaguers.com
Algoma 0 McMaster 6
Dusan Kovacevic padded his lead atop the Marauders goal charts Saturday, leading the way as his team eased to victory at Ron Joyce Stadium.
The second-year forward netted four goals, including a first-half hat trick, as McMaster (11-3-1) blanked Algoma (2-13-0) 6-0 in the penultimate game of the OUA regular season.
His four goals pushed Kovacevic, already the team leader entering play Saturday, well into McMaster's lead in goals scored, with 11.
Fellow forward Yordan Stoyanov added two goals of his own in the win, while Jesse Di Domenico notched his fifth clean sheet of the season.
McMaster closes out the conference season Sunday with a rematch against the Thunderbirds at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Source: marauders.ca
Windsor 1 York 2
The York University Lions men's soccer team entered their regular-season finale riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and extended it to 13 with a 2-1 win over the Windsor Lancers at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Lions conclude their regular season with a 13-2-1 record and had already clinched first place in the OUA West standings before the match-up with the Lancers, more than making up for their uncharacteristic slow start.
The Lions faced a challenging start to the game as the Lancers showed an incredibly strong defensive effort, foiling all of the Lions' attempts to score. That all came to an end with a goal by Jonathan Lao in the 34th minute. Three minutes later, Sergiu Anton completed a play beautifully set-up by Joey Cicchillo to make it 2-0.
The Lancers saw their first goal of the game halfway through the second half. Nathan Cummings scored following an intense few moments of play that left Lions' goalkeeper Andrew D'Souza off-guard, but the one goal was not enough to earn a point against the Lions.
With their first-place finish, the Lions have been granted a bye in the first round of the OUA playoffs. Their post-season run will begin on Sunday, Oct. 29 and take place on home turf. Details on the game and their opponent are still to be determined.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Western 0 Guelph 1
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs men's soccer team fell just short in a tight 1-0 loss to the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
With the loss, the Mustangs end their regular season with a 7-5-4 record on the year, securing fourth place in the OUA West division. The Gryphons' win will give them an 11-3-1 record with one game remaining as they're currently battling the McMaster Marauders for second place in the standings.
The first half was a great showing for the purple and white, as the Mustangs outshot the Gryphons 9-2 through the opening half. Despite the high volume of shots, Guelph goaltender Simon Norgrove kept the Gryphons in the game with nine saves in the first 45 minutes of the match, leading to the 0-0 deadlock heading into halftime.
The second half was not nearly as lopsided for the Mustangs, as the shots were even at four-four until the end of the match. Both teams continued to play stifling defence, but the game-deciding goal would eventually come from Guelph's Mitchell Lefebvre in the final minute of the match to narrowly avoid the draw.
The Mustangs will be back in action this Wednesday, October 25, where they will host an OUA first round playoff matchup at Mustang Field.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
Brock 2 Waterloo 0
The Brock University men's soccer team clinched an OUA playoff berth as they defeated the Waterloo Warriors by the score of 2-0 Saturday on the road.
Brock and Waterloo fight for possession the majority of the first half, with the Badgers winning many battles. Brock outshot the Warriors 3-0 in the opening 45 minutes with the score tied 0-0.
The Badgers would get a big break in the 73rd minute as Waterloo defender knocked it in his own goal to take a 1-0 lead. Just one minute later, Brock's Jaden Nearing-Rampersad would beat Waterloo goalkeeper Markus Beckman to give them a 2-0 lead to secure a playoff berth for the first time since the 2011 season when they finished with a 5-8-3 OUA record.
In goal, Brock starter Anthony Stott recorded two saves for the shutout while Beckman collected six saves in the loss.
The Badgers close out the OUA regular season on the road Sunday in a key OUA West final positional matchup with the Laurier Golden Hawks.
Source: gobadgers.ca
RMC 0 Ryerson 4
The Ryerson Rams seniors say goodbye to their OUA regular season careers and hello to one last postseason.
The Rams took a 4-0 victory over the RMC Paladins Saturday night at Downsview Park for a season sweep of a team to cap off the 2017 regular season. The game also served as senior night for the Rams who will say goodbye to some key players, including - but not limited to - Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.), Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, Ont.), and team captain Kyle Stewart (Kingston, Jamaica).
Scoring came fast and often in the first half, with Kussai Salman (Toronto, Ont.) with a high kick from a sharp angle finding the first goal of the game within five minutes. In the second of three penalty kicks in the half, Alex Meczarski (Richmond Hill, Ont.) fooled Arman Afkham-Ebrahim (Ottawa, Ont.) to make the score 2-0. Another penalty kick saw Akibul Hoque (Toronto, Ont.) extend the score to 3-0. Finally, Salman would score his second on a wide open net in the 36th minute to complete the game’s scoring.
While the second half saw strong goalkeeping and defending to keep the score from continuing to rise, it also saw a great deal of aggression and penalties awarded. Four RMC players would be awarded yellow cards, with Andrew Cameron (Ottawa, Ont.) also facing a red card.
With the final step in the 2017 regular season behind them and a home playoff matchup secured, head coach Filip Prostran knows that this postseason means a lot to those senior players who were part of last season’s playoff shortcomings.
“My advice is just to stay level headed,” he explains, “enjoy the moment, as stressful as it might be, and just rely on your teammates and what’s got us here. That’s all you can really do, and you hope the ball bounces your way.”
The Rams won't enjoy the comfort of an early bye week, but Prostran insists that the team is better for the obstacles they have endured.
“The adversity that we’ve faced both on and off the field has made us stronger, more prepared for whatever playoff run we want to make,” Prostran says. “It doesn’t feel like a season where we’ve rolled and won so many games. It feels like we’ve got things to prove still. Our best soccer is still ahead of us.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Queen’s 1 Toronto 2
The No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team defeated the Queen's Gaels 2-1 on Saturday, October 21 at Varsity Stadium.
The win ends the Blues regular season with an 11-2-4 record, finishing second place in the OUA East to earn a first round playoff bye.
In the 7th minute of the match, Toronto veteran Lukas MacNaughton scored by capitalizing on a scrambling ball after a corner kick.
The Blues continued to dominate the first half with many great chances, but were unable to get the ball past Gaels goalkeeper Alex Jones.
But, in the 44th minute of the match, Blues striker Jack Wadden would finally get the ball through to the back of the net with help from fellow striker Nirun Sivananthan.
The Blues would continue to have great chances in the second half, including Jae Lee winning a tackle in the 64th minute, but shooting just wide of the net.
However, the Gaels would battle back in the 83rd minute of the match with a goal from Jacob Schroeter.
Schroeter then had a great chance to even the game in the 90th minute of the match, getting by the Blues defence and keepr, but a sliding Matthew Paoletta ultimately blocked his shot to secure the regular season finale victory.
U of T goalkeeper Mark Rogal made five saves in the win.
The Varsity Blues start their playoff run at Varsity Stadium next Sunday, October 29 at 3:15 p.m. Opponent TBD.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Other Scores:
Trent 2 Nipissing 4
October 22, 2017
Trent 0 Laurentian 1
The Voyageurs men's soccer team played their final regular season game at the LU soccer field today as they downed the Trent Excalibur, 1-0.
The Voyageurs came out firing, generating several scoring chances early. Just four minutes into the game, Dylan Sheehan sent a ball into the box for a free Roman Lovrencec, but was called on the offside. Two minutes later, Kristian Shuttleworth set up Lovrencec, who narrowly missed the back of the net with his high shot. Right after that, Sheehan sent one of his own toward the corner of the net, but the Excalibur keeper was able to put a fist on it and send it over the bar. After a Trent offensive possession that was stymied by the Voyageurs defense, Laurentian got themselves on the board when Kristian Shuttleworth fired home a nice ball from Brad Mastrangelo in the 28th minute. Teams headed into the half with the Voyageurs up 1-0.
The second half saw a lot of offense from the Voyageurs, but no tallies as the Excalibur keeper kept his team in the game. Trent generated some of their own chances but were denied by Voyageurs keeper, Adam Scanlon, who secured a shutout in his first OUA start.
The Voyageurs now travel to Oshawa to take on the UOIT Ridgebacks on Wednesday. Stay tuned to luvoyageurs.com and @luvoyageurs for more playoff information.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
UOIT 2 Nipissing 0
NORTH BAY, Ont. – The UOIT men's soccer team clinched their first home playoff game in program history on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over the Nipissing Lakers.
Finishing the year in fourth place, their highest ranking in program history, the Ridgebacks are in position to host the fifth place Laurentian Voyageurs in the opening round of the playoffs on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Oshawa Civic.
"I am really proud of the guys for being able to rebound after not reaching the playoffs last year to accomplishing new milestones including hosting our first home playoff game," said head coach Peyvand Mossavat. "It is good to see results like this with a lot of rookies in the lineup while our seniors continue to lead the program to new heights. I also want to thank coach Ramin, Steve and the rest of the staff for really leading the way with the program especially while I was away at FISU. Their commitment and love for this program is unmatched."
UOIT had the upper hand on Laurentian in their season series, playing to a 1-1 draw in Oshawa followed by a 1-0 victory in Sudbury on Saturday.
The Ridgebacks set program records for most wins (8) and points (27) in a season, while allowing the fewest goals against (13) in a year. UOIT ended the year with an 8-5-3 conference record, earning at least a point in eight of their last nine games.
In Sunday's win over Nipissing, veteran George Meditskos (Toronto, Ont.) was the hero as he scored two second half goals to lead the Ridgebacks to victory.
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) needed to make just one save for the clean sheet. He is third in OUA save percentage at .824 on the year.
UOIT advanced to the playoffs twice in program history, going 1-1 in the opening round of the postseason with their win coming against the Carleton Ravens in 2014.
Source: uoitridgebacks.com
Windsor 0 Guelph 0
GUELPH – The Guelph Gryphons have dug deep to score goals all season. On the final weekend of the OUA regular season, the Gryphons also showed they could prevent them. Guelph followed up a dramatic 1-0 win over the Western Mustangs Saturday with an efficient 0-0 draw against the Windsor Lancers on Senior Day at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
The defending conference champions and national bronze medalists, ranked No. 8 in last week's U SPORTS poll, closed out the regular season with an 11-3-2 record and third-place finish in the OUA West.
The Gryphons will face the Lancers again in a playoff match on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at 6 pm.
Sunday's effort wasn't their prettiest match of an impressive season. But it didn't need to be as Guelph had already secured the home playoff date.
"We 've got to be as defensively sound as we were today," head coach Keith Mason said of his side's preparation for the post-season. "We've got to be better in the attacking third, better in the penalty box and we know we can be."
Mason was thrilled to see the back-to-back clean sheets, the first from number one goalkeeper Simon Norgrove and Sunday's by talented rookie Ryan Collins, who had a simple day from a shot-stopping perspective.
Offensive chances were at a premium though the Gryphons had one of the better opportunities of the first half when Mitchell Lefebvre's straight free kick 25 yards out just sailed over the crossbar of Windsor goalkeeper Kyle Vizirakas's net. The second-year striker scored a late winner Saturday against Western.
The most important development for Guelph was the return of star striker Jace Kotsopoulos. The Burlington, ON native had 10 goals in the first nine matches before going down with an injury. Kotsopoulos subbed in during the second half and made an impact despite not scoring. He was able to get a good shot off from inside the area in the 84th minute but Vizirakas, who had to deal with an Atchu Siva attempt moments later, made the save.
"Just having Jace back for that last 30 minutes today was huge for us," said Mason. "You could see the extra danger he brings. He links the defence and midfield to the attack so well and he gives us a new dimension. It's about us getting him sharp as we can for hopefully a long playoff run and I think he alone will add to the potency up front."
The scoreless draw came on the heels of a thrilling finish in Saturday's match versus Western. Despite an offensive push by the Mustangs, who fired 10 shots on target to keep Norgrove occupied, the match was scoreless heading into the final moments. Lefebvre provided the late heroics and scored an incredible 90th-minute winner to lift the Gryphons to their 11th victory of the season.
The Gryphons lost several players from last year's medal-winning side, some to graduation and others who transferred to NCAA schools. But Guelph didn't miss a beat this year, in part because of a talented, youthful lineup but also because of the senior leadership of four departing players. Defenders Owen Botelho and Zachary Rushe, midfielder and Master's student Joshua Seguin, and goalkeeper Braden Taylor, have provided the stability that enabled this group to thrive in a competitive OUA. Mason gave them praise on Senior Day.
"They've been fantastic," Mason said of his most experienced veterans. "This program in the four or five years they've been here, has transformed from 'can we make playoffs' to 'can we challenge for titles.' That's been during their period as Gryphons.
"They can be really proud of the difference they've made cause all of them have played a big part in making us one of the top teams in the province. I'm always sad to see them go and I'm really proud of what they've done."
Source: gryphons.ca
Other Scores:
Algoma 1 McMaster 3
Brock 0 Laurier 0