October 18, 2010

M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: York knocks off Western, takes over OUA East

Waterloo Warriors @ McMaster Marauders

In their final home game of the 2010 conference season, the McMaster Marauders kept the visiting Waterloo Warriors off the board while earning one goal themselves today at Ron Joyce Stadium.

Rookie Waterloo keeper Rob McMillan (Newburgh, Ont.) saved eight Marauder shots today, but he let one by fourth year midfielder Omar Nakeeb (Mississauga, Ont.) slip by to give Mac the win.  Marauder goalie Matthew Grant (Brampton, Ont.) continued his stellar season by keeping out ten Warrior shots.

The win gives 7-5-2 Mac 23 points this season for third place in the OUA West while Waterloo drops to 5-7-2.  The Marauders will be back on the field tomorrow, October 17, to face the 6-3-4 Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo.  With 22 points this season, the Hawks will prove to be tough competition tomorrow as they try to work their way up the provincial ranks.

 
Toronto Varsity Blues @ Queen’s Gaels
 
The No. 6 Varsity Blues men’s soccer team defeated the Queen’s Gaels 2-0 on Sunday, October 17 at Richardson Stadium in Kingston, Ont.

With the win, the Blues improve to 8-1-3 and sit in second place behind the Carleton Ravens (9-2-2) in the OUA East division.

Co-captain Darragh McGee of Donegal, Ireland opened the scoring off a free kick in the 44th minute to give the Blues a narrow 1-0 lead at the half.

Fifth-year striker Alex Raphael of East York, Ont., added some insurance in the last minute of the match when he headed a Neil D’Silva throw in past Gaels goalkeeper Marshal Peacock and into the net.
 
 
Nipissing Lakers @ Carleton Ravens

The Carleton University Ravens men’s soccer team got back in the win column on Sunday with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Nipissing University Lakers in their last regular season home game.

The Ravens had a couple of scoring chances to start the game, but the majority of the first half was a midfield battle.

It was in the second half that Carleton saw some much needed production up front. In the 53rd minute, Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) found the back of the net for his seventh goal of the season, ranking him fifth in OUA scoring.

The Ravens took a two-goal lead when midfielder Sam McHugh (Russell, Ont.) made a long pass to Jonni Okai (Ottawa). He showed good patience before passing back to McHugh in the box, who finished with a great strike.

First year midfielder George-Anthony El-Asmar (Ottawa) added another in injury time, giving Carleton the 3-0 win.
Ravens keeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa) had another strong performance for Carleton, earning his 11th shutout of the season.

 
Ryerson Rams @ Queen’s Gaels
 
Janarthan Sadacharalingam's goal in the 54th minute was all the offense required as the Ryerson Rams men's soccer team defeated the Queen's Gaels 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in Kingston, Ont.
 
Keeper Aaryon Gaeeni made 10 saves for his fourth shutout and second victory of the season. Marshal Peacock made six saves for the Gaels.
 
With the victory, the Rams improve to 4-2-5 and remain in a three-way tie for fourth place in the OUA East Division with 17 points. Trent (5-4-2) and Laurentian (5-5-2) also have 17 points. The Rams also move just two points behind third place Queen's, who falls to 6-4-1 after today's loss.
 
 
Brock Badgers @ Windsor Lancers
 
The Lancer men’s soccer team split a weekend home and home series with the Brock Badgers.
 
Windsor fell 3-1 to the home Badgers on Saturday before turning around on Sunday and defeating the visitors 2-0 on home turf.
 
With the split, the Lancers are now 3-4-7 on the season and sit in 6th place in the OUA West.
 
On Saturday, Brock forward Nick Ianieri found himself alone on a break and was able to beat Windsor keeper Dan Mendonca less than 30 seconds into the game to give Brock an early 1-0 lead.
 
Play was back and forth for much of the first half, but Windsor evened the score in the 30th minute when a scramble in front of the Badger goal found Kyle Dobric with the ball on his foot and he buried the equalizer.
 
Pushing to score before the half, Brock rookie Kosta Krajisnik found himself with the ball and uncovered 30 yards from the goal in the game's 39th minute. Krajisnik's strike from that spot sailed into the top corner of the goal, just out of the reach of Mendonca to put the Badgers up 2-1 heading into the half.
 
Coming out of the half Windsor pushed hard to even the score. Despite several great chances Badger keeper Ryan Toale closed the door on the Lancer attack. Toale made 12 saves on the contest, but five big stops in the pressure filled second half.
 
The lone goal in the final 45 minutes came late. In the 87th minute fourth-year forward George Chondronikolas buried a penalty kick to record his first goal of the season and put the game out of reach.
 
On Sunday, Windsor rebounded from the loss to shut-out the visiting Badgers.
 
Windsor dominated the first half, as the Lancer defense prevented Brock from registering a single shot in the half.
 
In the 34th minute, Windsor took a one goal lead after defender Arlo Hemkes scored on a penalty shot after Brock fouled Lancer striker Mike Watson in their box.
 
The second half was just as intense as the first half, as both teams applied continual pressure.
 
Mike Watson put Windsor up by two twenty minutes into the second half as he knocked a rebounded off the goal post past the Brock goaltender.
 
Midfielder Renaldo Galusic led the Lancers in shots with two scoring opportunities. Mendonca made 5 saves for his eighth shut-out of the season.
 
 
Western Mustangs @ York Lions

In their biggest game of the season, the York University Lions men’s soccer team pulled off a thrilling second half comeback to defeat the Western Mustangs 3-2 in front of the home crowd at York Stadium on Sunday (Oct. 17).
With the win, the Lions (11-2-1) take over sole possession of first place in the OUA West division, which previously belonged to the Mustangs (10-1-3).

The match did not start well for the Lions, who found themselves down by two goals after the first half, but they dusted themselves off in the second and produced a memorable finish.

In the first half, the Lions dominated possession and generated several scoring chances, but it was the Mustangs who found the scoresheet first.

Mustangs’ defenceman Vince Caminiti (London, Ont.) gave his squad the lead in the 11th minute on a blast from just outside the18-yard box that zipped past Lions goalkeeper Sotiri Varlokostas (Toronto) and found the top-right corner of the net.

Caminiti continued to demonstrate his scoring touch in the 43rd minute with his second goal of the game, another long-distance strike similar to his first that gave the Mustangs a two-goal cushion heading into the half.

The Lions deserved a better result from the first half, but the Mustangs defence was solid, preventing the Lions from getting any clean looks at their goal. Striker Adrian Pena (Woodbridge, Ont.) had the best scoring opportunity for the Lions on a free-kick from just outside the Mustangs’ 18-yard box, but his shot struck Mustangs’ goalkeeper Andrew Murdoch (Burlington, Ont.) harmlessly in the chest.

Fourth-year midfielder Dominic Antonini (Winnipeg) was the centrepiece of the Lions offence in the first half. He created many scoring chances off the left flank, which is where the Lions focused their attack for most of the half. Antonini’s reward for his strong play did not come until later in the match.

In the second half, the Lions stormed out of the gate desperate to get back into the game, and it didn’t take them very long. They picked up where they left off in the first, pushing the ball forward and dominating possession, and they were rewarded with an early goal.

In the 51st minute, fourth-year forward Moreno Alberti (Winnipeg) put home a bending strike that beat Murdoch high, just under the crossbar. Pena started the rush down the middle of the pitch and sent the Mustangs defence into a scramble before the ball finally found Alberti’s boot.

After the goal, the Lions continued to press in search of an equalizer, which they found only moments later in the 54th minute. Midfielder Selvin Lammie (Toronto) made a great effort to keep the ball in-bounds beside the Mustangs’ goal and made a great pass out front to Antonini who made no mistake, burying the ball deep into the goal.

With the game tied, the Mustangs substituted a striker for a defenceman, showing that they wanted to protect their undefeated season, and the Lions went for the kill.

In the 66th minute, rookie forward Alon Badat (Thornhill, Ont.) forced his way through the Mustangs’ defence and fired a shot just inside if Murdoch’s right post to give the Lions the 3-2 lead.

Following the go-ahead goal, play got heated as the Mustangs felt their undefeated season slipping away. Niko Mavrikos (Victoria, B.C.) and Branko Majstorovic (Mississauga, Ont.) got into a shoving match that resulted in Mavrikos throwing a punch and Lammie inserting himself into the scrum to defend his teammate. As a result, Mavrikos and Lammie were both ejected from the game with straight red cards.

Following the rough stuff, the energy level of both teams went through the floor as the Lions sat back and protected their lead effectively, sending only one striker forward and leaving the rest of the team to defend in the backfield.
The Mustangs, however, made things interesting in injury time with a couple of great scoring chances, but Varlokostas shut the door like he has done all season and preserved the win.

 
OUA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
 
October 16
Laurentian, 1 @ Carleton, 0
Ryerson, 1 @ Queen’s, 0
Trent, 4 @ RMC, 1
Windsor, 1 @ Brock, 3
Waterloo, 0 @ McMaster, 1
 
October 17
Nipissing, 0 @ Carleton, 3
Toronto, 2 @ Queen’s, 0
Ryerson, 5 @ RMC, 0
Brock, 0 @ Windsor, 2
Western, 2 @ York, 3
McMaster, 2 @ Laurier, 2
Guelph, 3 @ Waterloo, 1
 
October 20
3:15pm – Guelph @ Brock
7:00pm – UOIT @ Laurier
8:15pm – Toronto @ Trent
8:45pm – Windsor @ Western
 
October 23
2:15pm – Queen’s @ Nipissing
2:15pm – RMC @ Laurentian
3:15pm – Trent @ Toronto
3:15pm – Carleton @ Ryerson
3:15pm – Guelph @ York
3:15pm – McMaster @ UOIT
 
October 24
2:15pm – RMC @ Nipissing
2:15pm – Queen’s @ Laurentian
3:15pm – Ryerson @ Trent
3:15pm – Waterloo @ Laurier
3:15pm – Western @ Brock
3:15pm – Windsor @ York
3:15pm – UOIT @ Guelph