OUA Men's Soccer Roundup (Oct. 16)
October 11, 2017
RMC 0 UOIT 2
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's soccer team battled hard on the rain-slickened turf at Civic Fields on Wednesday night as they earned a 2-0 victory over the RMC Paladins.
With the win, UOIT (6-4-3) matches their program-high in victories in a season that was set back in 2014. That year, UOIT finished with a 6-6-4 record and advanced to the OUA quarter-finals for the first and only time in program history.
UOIT has picked up at least a point in their last five games including back-to-back victories to move into third place in the OUA eastern conference. Laurentian (6-5-1), who was idle on Wednesday night, trails the Ridgebacks by two points but have a game in hand.
The Ridgebacks held the majority of possession against RMC and ended outshooting the Paladins 15-5. Nicolas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) saw only one shot on target as he picked up his third clean sheet of the year.
Ridgeback veteran Fabio Campoli (Frosinone, Italy) opened up scoring for UOIT in the 33rd minute as he broke in on the goalkeeper 1v1 and beat Arman Afkham-Ebrahim for his sixth goal of the season, moving him into the top ten of OUA scoring.
The game remained 1-0 in favour of UOIT until the 80th minute when Mateo Marques (Burlington, Ont.) blasted a shot from well outside of the 18-yard box in the top left corner. For Marques, it was the second goal of his freshman campaign.
UOIT sweeps the season series against RMC as they beat the Paladins 4-0 in Kingston, Ont. in September.
The Ridgebacks' final home game will take place on Saturday, Oct. 14 against the first-place Carleton Ravens (11-1-2). Carleton beat UOIT 2-0 in their season opener in Ottawa. Game time at the Oshawa Civic is 3:15 p.m.
Source: uoitridgebacks.com
McMaster 2 Guelph 1
Unfazed by an early goal against, the Marauders struck twice in retaliation within the first half Wednesday, sweeping the season series against the OUA's defending champions, the Guelph Gryphons, with a 2-1 road victory.
The Gryphons took the lead in the 12th minute through Youssef Zaghloul, before the McMaster combination of midfielder Matt Monteiro and forward Yordan Stoyanov struck less than five minutes apart in the 32nd and 37th minutes to power the Marauders into the lead.
With the win, McMaster (9-3-1) draws level with the Gryphons for second in the OUA West standings with three matches left to be played in the regular season.
Desperate for an equalizer late, the Gryphons directed three shots at Marauders goalkeeper Jesse DiDomenico in the second half, but only hit the net with two efforts all game.
NEXT UP: The Marauders welcome the Brock Badgers to Ron Joyce Stadium for a matinee contest on Sunday, October 15. That game is slated to get underway at 3:15 p.m.
Source: marauders.ca
October 14, 2017
Toronto 6 Nipissing 0
Third-year striker Jack Wadden scored four goals in leading the No. 9 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team to a dominant 6-0 victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 14) in North Bay, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 8-1-4 and remain in second place in the OUA East division.
A native of Ottawa, Wadden scored what would stand as the game-winner in the second minute of the match. After rookie Nicholas Osorio put the Blues up 2-0 in the 10th minute, Wadden tallied three straight markers in the 17th, 30th and 46th minutes.
Jae Jin Lee rounded out the scoring with a goal in the 77th minute.
Stefan Dusciuc made six saves and earned the clean sheet victory for the Blues.
The Varsity Blues are back in action tomorrow as they travel to Sudbury, Ont., to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. Game time is set for 2:15 p.m.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Ryerson 3 Laurentian 1
SUDBURY, Ont. - Raheem Rose sealed the deal in the second half to give the Ryerson Rams a 3-1 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs, making major moves in the OUA East standings.
With a six-game undefeated streak, the Rams travelled to Sudbury hoping to secure their fourth consecutive victory and first official victory over the Voyageurs in 2017. Hot off of a milestone 4-3 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues, the Rams came into the weekend ready to catch Laurentian in the standings.
Nick Lambis, riding a hot streak of three consecutive scoring games including a two-goal showing in Toronto, opened up the scoring with the sole scoring play of the first half. The Rams would begin to pull away with Andrew Dias increasing the score to 2-0 in the 56th minute. In the 60th minute, Zef Kraja scored to put the Voyageurs within one. Bettering his assist in the first half, Raheem Rose would put the game away in the 69th minute to give the Rams a 3-1 victory.
The key points see the Rams continue to claw their way back to the top of the OUA East, now sitting tied with Laurentian for fourth with 19 points each. With the UOIT Ridgebacks sitting in third with 21, the red hot Rams are within striking distance of the top of the conference. As time dwindles down in the regular season, the postseason chase is heightened by these final games, and the victory over the Voyaguers is the first step in a major comeback for the Rams.
The Rams will take on the Nipissing Lakers on October 15th in an attempt to break the points tie and gain sole possession of fourth in the standings.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Laurier 1 Western 0
LONDON, Ont. (October 14,2017)- With a 1-0 win over Western on Saturday afternoon, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s soccer team now sit in sixth place, occupying the last playoff spot in the OUA West standings. With the victory, the Hawks improve to 4-7-3 on the season and 15 points, two more than the seventh place Windsor Lancers, who now sit just outside the playoff picture.
Facing a tough Mustang squad, the Hawks had an impressive showing at Mustang Field. Led by forward Malik Bromfield (Toronto, Ont.) and goalkeeper Rocco Strazzella (Woodbridge, Ont.), the Hawks were able to come out victorious despite the aggressive playstyle displayed by the opponent.
Bromfield had two shots in the match but it was his blast in the 66th minute which proved to be the difference in the game. By beating Western keeper Kody Thomson (Calgary, AB.), Bromfield provided the game winner, and earned his second goal of his 2017 campaign.
Strazella was superb in net, facing four shots and steering all four away, earning the clean-sheet.
Laurier beat Western in the shot department, totalling seven for the game compared to the Mustangs’ three. In terms of corner kicks, the Golden Hawks had one more than the Mustangs, four to three.
A physical game, it was Western who received the brunt of the punishments. While two Golden Hawks received yellow cards in the 90th minute, the Mustangs received three yellows, and one red card. Of particular note was what took place in the 90th minute. Tahrik Rodriques (Scarborough, Ont.) and Luca Pietropaolo (Woodbridge, Ont.) were handed yellow cards for their involvement in the second half scuffle, but Mustang defender Chuka Ononye (Richmond Hill, Ont.) received a harsher sentence, with the referee opting to kick him out of the game by showing red.
From here, the Hawks have a very important match against the Windsor Lancers, tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, October 15th. The game is scheduled for a` 3:15 pm kickoff in Windsor, at Alumni Field.
Source: laurierathletics.com
Queen’s 3 Trent 1
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. (October 14, 2017) – The Queen's Gaels (5-5-3) were victorious 3-1 in an aggressive away game this weekend against the Trent Excalibur (3-6-4).
GAME FLOW
The men started the first half with strong shots on net and many attacking opportunities on the Trent goal. Early in the first half, Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa), leading scorer for the Gaels, put Queen's on the board with the first goal of the game. Not long after, Matthew Reale(Ancaster, Ont.) was awarded the first yellow card in the 31st minute.
10 minutes into the second half, William Horton of Trent was awarded his first yellow card. The Gaels quickly responded with a fantastic offensive attack, setting Tonko Beacelic (Mississauga, Ont.) up for a goal in the 58th minute.
The men held the score at 2-0 until the Excalibur's Horton was awarded his second yellow of the game. A third yellow card for Trent put the tricolour in gear, with Schroeter (Ottawa) finding the back of the net for his second goal of the game, putting the Gaels up 3-0.
The tricolour had a minor lapse in the 82nd minute where the Excalibur capitalized and tightened the score to 3-1. The Gaels lead was too far to catch and Queen's took the win with a score of 3-1.
BY THE NUMBERS
3 – Saves this game for the Gaels goalie, Alex Jones
10 – Jacob Schroeter reaches double digits in season goals
15 – Shots for the tricolour this game
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Algoma 0 York 6
The York University Lions men's soccer team faced off with the Algoma Thunderbirds Saturday. The Lions defeated the Thunderbirds 6-0, extending their unbeaten streak to 11 with only two games left in the regular season.
After a few attempts to locate an opening in the Thunderbirds' defensive line, Milan Beader was able to find an opening and scored the first goal for the Lions. Cristian Cavallini found his 12th goal of the season in the 19th minute of play.
Minutes later, Beader scored his second goal of the game, this time assisted by Steve Kloutsouniotis. Two goals weren't enough for Beader, who then made a hat trick in the first half, nicely finishing a play set up by Joey Cicchillo in the 42nd minute.
The Lions left the first half with a 4-0 lead over the Thunderbirds.
The second began much more slowly. Despite changing eight of their 11 starting players, the Lions kept up an aggressive offence and had near-miss shots on net. They also maintained a strong defence that foiled all of the Thunderbirds' attempts to score.
The first goal of the second half was finally scored in the 70th minute by fifth-year midfielder Cicchillo, assisted by Adam Parda. Parda scored his own goal in the 84th minute, assisted by Sergiu Anton. That concluded all the scoring for the game, and the Lions walked off with a 6-0 blowout.
Top performer on the Thunderbirds' side was Dylan Rennie for leading the team with two shots on net.
The Lions now have an 11-2-1 season record and remain atop the OUA West Division standings.
The two teams return to Alumni Field again Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3:15pm. The Lions last regular-season game will be Saturday, Oct. 21 at Alumni Field when they will take on the Windsor Lancers at 3:15pm.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Carleton 1 UOIT 0
SHAWA, Ont. – In their final regular season home game of the season, the UOIT men's soccer team fell just short dropping a 1-0 decision to the OUA eastern conference leading Carleton Ravens.
Carleton (12-1-2) has won seven straight games and is ten points ahead of the Toronto Varsity Blues (8-1-4) for first place. UOIT (6-5-3) remains in third place, two points ahead of Laurentian (6-6-1) and Ryerson (6-6-1) and three points ahead of Queen's (5-5-3), all of which have a game in hand on the Ridgebacks.
UOIT will wrap up conference play next weekend with road games against the Laurentian Voyageurs (Saturday) and Nipissing Lakers (Sunday). Despite the loss, the Ridgebacks could lock up a playoff spot this weekend depending on results on Sunday.
Carleton's game-winning goal came in the 61st minute off a bullet free kick from OUA leading scorer Gabriel Bitar. It was Bitar's second chance at the free kick, as his first attempt was blocked by a hand ball from the Ridgeback wall. He made no mistake on his second attempt as he dipped one over the wall and in the top left corner of the net.
UOIT struggled to break through the Carleton defence as they only managed four shots in the match. One of those shots came in stoppage time when the ball was lobbed in and banked off the football uprights just above the crossbar.
The Ridgebacks' defensive unit was also impressive as only four of Carleton's 16 shots were on target.
The loss puts an end to UOIT's five-game point streak.
Source uoitridgebacks.com
Waterloo 0 Windsor 2
The Lancer men's soccer team earned four very important points on their final regular season weekend at home.
Kyle Vizirakis earned two shut outs in net as the Blue & Gold defeated the Waterloo Warriors 2-0 before coming to a 0-0 draw against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday at Alumni Field.
The Lancers are 5-7-2 on the season and sit in fifth place in the OUA West division standings.
A goal in each half lifted the Blue & Gold over the visiting Warriors on a cool night at Alumni Field. The game was evenly matched as the Lancers only out-shot Waterloo by one, 12-11 over the 90 minutes of regulation.
Kyle Ruggaber scored his seventh goal of the season in the 13th minute to put the Lancers up early. After some intense pressure from both sides, Jamar Redhead added his fourth goal of the year in the 66th minute to secure the victory for the home squad.
Vizirakis made five saves in the victory.
Source: golancers.ca
October 15
Toronto 1 Laurentian 2
The Voyageurs men's soccer team came away with a big win on Sunday afternoon as they upset the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues, 2-1. Currently, the Blues are the #2 ranked team in the OUA East Division, sitting six points ahead of the Voyageurs with just two games remaining in the regular season schedule.
The Voyageurs were the first offense to strike when Kieran Ezzard set up Jacob Gramegna who put his first of the season past the Blues keeper in the 39th minute. The Blues responded six minutes later when Marko Mandekic found an open net to knot the game at 1-1.
The temperature outside got cooler, but the heat on the field was still high as both team's upped their offensive attacks, looking to break the tie early in the second half. The Voyageurs responded to the challenge in the 51st minute when Jacob Gramegna shoveled a pass to Liam Ezzard who made no mistake on his second game-winning goal of the season.
The Voyageurs defense was able to keep the Varsity Blues surging offense away from goalkeeper, Connor Vande Weghe, as the OUA's leader in saves (101), only saw one shot in the second half.
The Voyageurs are back in action next weekend as they welcome the UOIT Ridgebacks (Saturday) and Trent Excalibur (Sunday) to LU Soccer Field for their final two regular season home games. Game times are set for 2:15pm.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Ryerson 2 Nipissing 0
Kussai Salman (Toronto, Ont.) opened the scoring in the thirtieth minute, and Sean Fafinski (Toronto, Ont.) added his first of the season as an insurance marker which saw the Rams sweep their weekend road trip picking up six huge points.
"It's definitely a great feeling to score my first OUA goal," said Fafinski. "It was something I was looking to achieve as the season went on, and feels good to finally get on the scoresheet."
Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, Ont.) faced just two shots all afternoon on his way to recording yet another clean sheet.
The weekend's results see Ryerson move into a tie for third place in the standings with Saturday's foes, the Laurentian Voyageurs. With a pair of wins next week, the Rams have a great shot at moving into third place in the division, which would grant them a home playoff game in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
"I think everyone is doing a good job playing their role on the team and helping with the success," Fafinski added. "We look to get better every game so we're prepared come playoffs."
Even in the event that Ryerson wins their final two games, and the University of Toronto continues to stumble, and drops their final two matches, Toronto would still receive the first-round bye despite the two downtown Toronto clubs owning the same record, as the Varsity Blues would have the higher win percentage.
Ryerson will tie a bow on the regular season at home when they host the Queen's Gaels on Friday in a huge clash with big points on the line, and then they will finish up the pre-determined portion of their schedule, with a meeting against the RMC Paladins on Saturday. Both of this weekend's games will begin at 8:00 pm from Downsview Park.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Brock 0 McMaster 1
McMaster may not have won many style points Sunday, but they came away from Ron Joyce Stadium with three valuable points in the OUA standings, with the conference playoffs looming.
A 76th-minute goal from midfielder Matt Monteiro lifted the Marauders (10-3-1) to a 1-0 win over the Brock Badgers (5-8-1) and kept McMaster on course to clinch the second spot in the OUA West.
The top two seeds in each division earn byes through the opening round of the OUA playoffs, making McMaster's current position an enviable one for any team eyeing postseason success after a gruelling conference campaign.
Monteiro's goal was his fourth of the season and second in as many games, having contributed to McMaster's 2-1 road win in Guelph four days earlier.
Sunday's low-event contest saw the two teams combine for just five shots on goal, as Mac goalkeeper Jesse DiDomenico kept his fourth clean sheet of the year with two saves.
The Marauders conclude their conference schedule Oct. 21 and 22, with a pair of games against the Algoma Thunderbirds. Both fixtures are scheduled to kick off at 3:15 p.m.
Source: marauders.ca
RMC 0 Queen’s 2
KINGSTON, Ont. (October 15, 2017) – The men's soccer team (6-5-3) were victorious 2-0 in a hard fought home game against the RMC Paladins (0-11-3).
Prior to the match Queen's honoured their graduating seniors Briam Jimenez-Lopez, Andrew Kim, Rory McParland, Patrick Van Belleghem, Tonko Bacelic and Jacob Schroeter who were all recognized with a special gift.
GAME FLOW
The tricolour had a quick start, gaining and controlling possession of the ball early in the game. Queen's played an aggressive and composed first half. Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa) and Inaki Hew (Singapore) had several scoring opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net in the opening 45.
In the 32nd minute of the game, Christopher Meyer (Singapore) sent a header to the back of the net, scoring the first goal of the game and his first goal of the season.
The men continued to play with control and aggression and through all the injuries and rain they battled firing many more shots on goal.
After the half the Gaels put more pressure on the Paladins defence and continued to take shots on the RMC goalie. In the 55th minute, RMC player, Harry Tam, received his first yellow of the game and proceeded to receive a red card in the 80th minute. Alex Jones (Comox, B.C.) received his first yellow card of the season in the 64th minute of the game.
A late goal by Schroeter in the 87th minute of the game bumped the lead to 2-0 and solidified the win for Queen's.
BY THE NUMBERS
1 – Alex Jones received his first yellow card of the season
4 – shut out games for the Gaels this year
25 – shots this game for the Tricolour
FINAL SAY
"The team did really well to fight for three points today. It was a really proud moment for us to win our seniors last home game of the season and it was a great opportunity for those of us who aren't seniors to honour them and get them the win in the end." – Chris Meyer
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Algoma 0 York 8
The No. 5 nationally-ranked York University Lions men's soccer team secured its 11th straight OUA West Division title with a dominant 8-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds at Alumni Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Lions are unbeaten in their last 12 contests and have a 12-2-1 record on the season for 37 points. Regardless of what happens in the final week of the regular season the Lions have clinched the top seed as they hold the tiebreaker over both the McMaster Marauders and Guelph Gryphons.
Sunday's game was never in doubt as the Lions finished with 34 shots compared to just four for the Thunderbirds.
It took 20 minutes for the Lions to find the back of the net, but once they did the floodgates opened. Milan Beader opened the scoring and accounted for the game winner with an assist to Joey Cicchillo.
Seven minutes later Cristian Cavallini scored his first of three goals on the afternoon, and he added his second just three minutes after that. Between his two tallies, Steve Kloutsouniotis also scored and the Lions led 4-0 at the half.
Beader, Jonathan Lao and De Vante Walker earned assists on the first-half goals.
The game played out in similar fashion in the second half. Cicchillo, Kloutsouniotis, Eddie Lay and Cavallini all scored in the final 45 minutes, with Kloutsouniotis and Sergiu Anton being credited with assists.
Quillan Roberts and Mike Argyrides split duties in net and combined for the cleansheet.
The Lions will now host the Windsor Lancers in their regular-season finale next Saturday afternoon at 3:15pm, and will also host an OUA quarter-final match the following weekend.
Source: yorkulions.ca
Laurier 0 Windsor 0
The Lancer men's soccer team earned four very important points on their final regular season weekend at home.
Kyle Vizirakis earned two shut outs in net as the Blue & Gold defeated the Waterloo Warriors 2-0 before coming to a 0-0 draw against the Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday at Alumni Field.
The Lancers are 5-7-2 on the season and sit in fifth place in the OUA West division standings.
Prior to kick-off, Windsor honoured their graduating seniors: Vizirakis, Chris Al-Youseff, Carlos Soaresand Patrick Sikora
Playing the full 90 minutes, Vizirakis made four saves to keep the visiting Golden Hawks off the scoresheet in Windsor's final home game of the year. Ruggaber and Sikora each had a pair of shots as Windsor out-shot Laurier 7-4.
Source: golancers.ca
Western 3 Waterloo 3
The Warriors may be out of the playoffs but the black and gold are showing they still have a lot of pride after an incredibly hard fought 3-3 draw with the Western Mustangs on Sunday night at Warrior Field.
Waterloo opened the scoring in the first minute as Nicholas Rebeiro continued his strong campaign, netting his third of the season. Western found the equalizer in teh 14th minute before taking a 2-1 lead early in the second half. Both goals came off the foot of Braden Gee.
Waterloo found the equalizer in the 53rd minute as Christoph Bruckeder (Waterloo/) fired one past Western's keeper, Connor Dalton. The Mustangs would however go back on top as Patrick Melo look to find the winner in the 74th minute but the never-say-die Warriors kept on fighting and Florian Bruckeder (Waterloo/) potted the game's tying goal in the 90th minute, making it a final 3-3.
With the tie, Western moved to 7-4-4 while Waterloo is now at 1-9-4 on the season with two home games remaining. The Warriors will face Guelph on Wednesday night before closing out their season on Saturday against Brock.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca