October 12, 2010

M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Toronto, York come out with two wins over weekend play

Laurentian Voyageurs @ Toronto Varsity Blues
 
The Varsity Blues men’s soccer team came away with a 3-1 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday, October 8 at Varsity Centre.

With the win, the Blues improve to a 5-1-3 record and sit in third place in the OUA East division, one point behind the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Alex Raphael of East York, Ont., got U of T on the board when he was awarded a penalty kick in the 18th minute. The fourth-year striker made no mistake, sending the ball past Voyageurs goalkeeper David Szczepaniak (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) into the top of the net.

Both teams exchanged scoring opportunities over the next 10 minutes as Blues striker Nordo Gooden of Kingston, Jamaica headed a ball to hit the post and Voyageurs Dieri Drame of Sudbury, Ont., returned the favour seven minutes later with a hard header that sailed over the cross bar.

Gooden would capitalize on his next chance though, kicking the ball through a scramble in the 34th minute to give the Blues a two-goal lead that they would carry into the half.

Laurentian’s Daniel O’Connor of Ajax, Ont., spoiled the shut out a few minutes into the second half when he received a cross pass from James Bond (Hamilton, Ont.) and sent the ball into far right side of the net.

U of T continued to hold the upperhand throughout the rest of the half and rookie midfielder Ezequiel Lubocki of Winnipeg added some insurance when he potted his first career goal in the 77th minute.

Szczepaniak came up with a few big saves for the Voyageurs in the final 10 minutes of the contest to keep the game within two at the final whistle.
 
 
Nipissing Lakes @ Ryerson Rams
 
The Ryerson Rams men’s soccer team recorded their third win of the season on Friday afternoon, defeating the Nipissing Lakers 2-0 at Lamport Stadium in Toronto.  
 
Ryerson’s first scoring opportunity came in the 12th minute when Vince D’Elia skilfully dodged a Lakers’ defender and swung a cross from the left side in to Mihal Andoni, who touched it just wide of the goal.  D’Elia nearly put one in himself a few minutes later, but aired the ball over the crossbar only metres away from the net.
 
The Rams continued to possess the ball, establishing their own pace to the match for much of the first half.  A hard shot by Alaric Johnson produced a solid stop from Lakers' keeper Cory Schwartz, with the rebound floating dangerously to the penalty spot.  Ashkan Mahboubi ripped a hard shot from there, but unfortunately it sailed over the upright once again, and the teams would go take a scoreless draw into the half-time break.
 
The Rams continued to apply pressure in the second half, with Jonarthan Sadacharalingam firing the ball off the side mesh after receiving a long kick from goalkeeper Christian Maraldo that gave him a step on the Lakers’ defender.  Andoni was then left with an open shot a few feet from goal, but could only manage a light touch that was scooped up by Schwartz. 
 
The Rams dominance and control of the match finally paid off from one of their numerous corner opportunities in the 71st minute.  Kevin Souter took a wonderful corner kick from the left side, bending it just under the crossbar.  A surprised Schwartz threw his hands up in desperation, but to no avail as the Rams would go up 1-0.  
 
The Rams found themselves in familiar territory, leading by a single goal at home in the dying minutes of the game.  Their past nearly came back to haunt them as a corner kick by the visitors was headed towards on open goal.  Fortunately, the ball was saved off the line and out of harm’s way.   
 
Minutes later, a breath of relief came from the home crowd as Johnson put the game out of reach in injury time.  With Nipissing pressing for the final goal, a clearing kick found its way to Johnson’s foot after a strong run down the right side.  With only the keeper to beat, the Pickering, Ont. native smoothly placed the ball in the low left corner, thus preserving the victory and a very important three points for Ryerson, as the final score would be 2-0.
 
Sebastien Novais and Souter were shown yellow cards for Ryerson, while Thomas Duncan and Shayne Kam of Nipissing were also booked during the match. 
 
 
York Lions @ Brock Badgers

It was a tremendous afternoon for the York University Lions men’s and women’s soccer teams as they both emerged victorious against the Brock Badgers on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 9), showing off the strength and resolve of both teams.

In the men’s game that followed, the contest was an edge of your seat showdown between two hungry teams.

Brock second-year midfielder Myles Denomme (Brampton, Ont.) fired a shot past Lions goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas(Toronto) to break open the scoring in the 30th minute.

The Badgers would remain in the lead at the half, and while it appeared they were in full control, the Lions turned on the juice in the second half.

Fourth-year forward Moreno Alberti (Winnipeg) struck the back of the net in the 58th minute to tie the game, and Gerard Ladiyou (Toronto) claimed the victory for the visiting side with a goal in the 73rd minute.

With the win, the Lions increased their lead over Laurier in the OUA West standings and remain in second place with a 9-2-1 record. They also closed the gap on the leading Western Mustangs and are now just five points back of top spot with four games to play and a game in hand over the Mustangs.

 
Guelph Gryphons @ McMaster Marauders

In their second meeting of 2010, the McMaster Marauders defeated the Guelph Gryhpons 2-0 today at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Fourth year middle Daniel Niksic (Stoney Creek, Ont.) and rookie forward Paterson Farrell (Oakville, Ont.) both scored in the win.

Mac improves to 6-4-2 this season while Guelph drops to 1-8-2.  

The Marauders will meet with the 9-2-1 York Lions on Wednesday October, 13 in Toronto to try to avenge their 3-0 loss earlier this season

 
Windsor Lancers @ Waterloo Warriors
 
The Lancer Men's Soccer team had a successful weekend on the road in Waterloo as they came home with four critical points.
 
On Saturday, Windsor drew a 0-0 tie against the Laurier Golden Hawks. Both teams defences came up big in the match and Lancer goaltender Dan Mendonca pulled off three amazing saves to keep the Lancers level.
 
As the game progressed, Windsor dominated all the possession and should have grabbed the win as Ryan Wise and Chris Hakim both had excellent shots turned away by Laurier’s goalkeeper.
 
On Sunday against Waterloo, the Lancers found themselves down 1-0 at the half, despite maintaining possession of the ball through most of the half.

Windsor bounced back in the second half as they registered four unanswered goals to capture a much needed 4-1 win.
 
All four goals came from Belle River's Michael Watson who turned in a tremendous offensive performance in the victory.
 
 
OUA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
 
October 8
Laurentian, 1 @ Carleton, 3
Nipissing, 0 @ Ryerson, 2
York, 5 @ UOIT, 0
 
October 9
Nipissing, 0 @ Toronto, 6
Laurentian, 1 @ Ryerson, 0
Trent, 1 @ Carleton, 0
Windsor, 0 @ Laurier, 0
Western, 0 @ Waterloo, 0
York, 2 @ Brock, 1
Guelph, 0 @ McMaster 2
 
October 10
Carleton, 2 @ RMC, 0
Windsor, 4 @ Waterloo, 1
 
October 13
12:00pm – Laurier @ Guelph
3:15pm – McMaster @ York
3:15pm – Carleton @ Nipissing
9:00pm – Toronto @ Ryerson
 
October 14
6:00pm – Brock @ UOIT
 
October 16
2:15pm – Laurentian @ Carleton
3:15pm – Ryerson @ Queen’s
3:15pm – Trent @ RMC
3:15pm – Windsor @ Brock
3:15pm – Waterloo @ McMaster