Banner Season: Toronto, Carleton set up familiar final after coming out victorious in semis
London, Ont. - The final is set and it is one that fans have grown accustomed to over the last decade.
Toronto 16 vs. McMaster 4 – Semi-Final #1
The Toronto Varsity Blues picked up a decisive win over McMaster Saturday afternoon to secure their spot in the gold medal game at the 2019 OUA Water Polo Championship.
Three goals in the 1st quarter had Toronto well on their way early on. They added five goals in the 2nd quarter and six more in the 3rd.
The Varsity Blues spread out the offence with several players having multi-goal games, but Bruno Marunica lead the way with a goal in each quarter.
“It’s been a tough season for us, losing eight or nine players from last year and having some players join the team only three months ago” said Toronto Head Coach Tuna Tali “We had some good harmony between the rookies and the seniors today and they pulled off the win so I’m very happy with that”.
McMaster was only able to score once in the first half of the game and it definitely put them on their heels.
“We know Toronto well enough; we knew what they were likely to do and what they’re capable of doing,” said McMaster Head Coach Quinn Fairly. “I felt in the first quarter we played well but just couldn’t find a way to score. There were four good opportunities in the first six minutes, but we didn’t have anything to show for it.”
The Marauders will play in the bronze medal game tomorrow morning, Game time is 11:00am at the Western Student Recreation Centre Pool.
Toronto will look to make it four championship banners in a row on Sunday afternoon in the gold medal game at 1:00pm.
Carleton 11 vs. Queen’s 5 – Semi-Final #2
The Carleton Ravens played a tight game against the Queen’s Gaels but picked up an 11-5 win to move on to the gold medal game at the 2019 OUA Water Polo Championship.
The Ravens got contributions from a number of players across their roster on the day with four players having multi-goal games.
“I don’t think it was our best game in many areas,” said Ravens Head Coach Zoltan Csepregi “We had a lot of guys score some goals today so that was nice to see, our goalie Mike Nevens was particularly sharp today”
Queen’s was frustrated with how the game played out and a lack of offence came back to bite them.
“I felt like we outplayed them in the first half but we just couldn’t put the ball in the net,” said Queen’s Head Coach Dave Hill “We have a couple players that are fairly new to the game on our squad and they (Carleton) have a player with 11 years of senior national team experience so I felt at times our guys were worried about making mistakes and that was the difference.”
The Ravens win moves them into the gold medal game against the three-time defending champion Toronto Varsity Blues, something that isn’t new to either side.
“We’ve been at this for a few years now with Toronto, it’s always a good game and I’m hoping we can put on a good show for the fans.” said Csepregi
The Gold Medal game is set for 1:00pm on Sunday afternoon at the Western Student Recreation Centre Pool.
Western 28 vs. Ottawa 10 – 5th Place Game
The Mustangs Rick Vermeulen scored 12 of the Mustangs goals in a 28-10 win over uOttawa in the 5th place game on Saturday afternoon.
Vermeulen had five goals in the 1st quarter alone for the Mustangs on route to the win.
“It’s a decisive victory and I think it shows the potential of what our team was capable of,” said Mustangs Head Coach Bill Terzis “5th place finish isn’t exactly what we had in mind at the start of the tournament but it’s nice to at least get this win today.”
The Mustangs also had big performances from Stevan Djordjevic with six goals and Victor Brancus had four of his own.
The 6th place finish isn’t what the Gee-Gees were hoping for coming into the tournament, but Raphael Siegel scored five goals for Ottawa and they are confident in a brighter future for the club.
“This is my first year with the team, we’re going to try to build on this and this is a long term project for me,” said Gee-Gees Head Coach “I think next year we will be playing for a medal and hopefully in two or three years, playing for a championship.”
The Mustangs have a similar mindset for the upcoming years.
“We have to look at our areas where we played well this year and then what needs to improve, next year we will be aiming for a podium finish.”
Both teams seasons came to an end on Saturday but both say there is definitely a lot to take away from this weekend and hope to have extended appearances next year.