KINGSTON -
Jamie Baker (Aurora, Ont.) found the back of the net on four occasions and the No. 3 Ryerson Rams kept their flawless start to the season intact with a 6-0 victory over the RMC Paladins in OUA men's soccer action Sunday afternoon.
Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.) and
Alex Christie (Whitby, Ont.) also scored for Ryerson as they pushed their record to 8-0.
BOXSCORE
The win moves the Rams back atop the OUA East division with 24 points. That puts them two up on the Carleton Ravens (7-1-1) with a game in hand. At the other end of the spectrum, RMC falls to 0-8 and remain at the bottom of the division's standings.
Baker got Ryerson going early; really early. He deposited the ball in the back of the net before the game was even a minute old to give the Rams a 1-0 advantage. He followed that up with two more tallies before the 15 minute mark and another in the 34th minute.
With a 4-0 lead at half, Baker continued to fuel Ryerson's offence following the break. He set up Lambis' fifth goal of the campaign in the 58th minute to widen the gap to five goals. Then, shortly before the final whistle, the team had a special moment.
Usually a goalkeeper for Ryerson, Christie was subbed into the game as a forward and found the back of the net in the 90th minute for his first career OUA goal.
Ali Ghazanfari (Stouffville, Ont.) stopped each of the five shots that he faced for the win in net while a couple of RMC goalkeepers combined for 14 saves on 20 shots.
Sunday's match was the third straight game in which the Rams' goalkeeping duo of Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, Ont.) and Ghazanfari registered a clean sheet. Through eight contests, Ryerson has only allowed one goal against. That came on a penalty kick in a 4-1 win against the Carleton Ravens on September 11th. Their 0.13 GAA and seven clean sheets are both best in the country.
The Rams return to the pitch for a couple of road matchups in the middle of the week. They'll travel to Justin Chiu Stadium in Peterborough on Wednesday to face the Trent Excalibur (1-6-2). Following that contest, they'll take on the UOIT Ridgebacks (3-5-1) at Civic Fields in Oshawa on Thursday. Kick off for both games is scheduled for 8:15 p.m.
NOTES: Baker's four goal performance bumps his total this season to six. That puts him in a five-way tie that includes teammate Raheem Rose (Toronto) atop the OUA… With a couple of draws for the OUA West-leading York Lions (7-0-2) this weekend, the Rams are now the only team in the OUA (and the CIS) with a perfect record.
