M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: York remains undefeated after mid-week win
October 10 – Brock @ Guelph
The Guelph Gryphons men’s soccer team fought to the bitter end for a 2-2 tie against the visiting Brock Badgers today (Oct 10) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
The draw moves them to a 5-5-2 record while Brock is 1-7-3.
Wind and rain threatened both teams’ opportunities. Despite the unpredictable weather, a beautiful strike by Ethan Danielli (Guelph, Ont) just outside the 30-yard mark set the Gryphon momentum rolling. However, it would not be enough to earn the first score as Brock’s first shot found its way into the hands of Chad Paparoni (Burlington, Ont). But an uncharacteristic rebound found its way into Marcus Bernard’s (Thornhill, Ont) control as he tapped it in for Brock’s first lead of the game.
With seven corners and four shots on net, Gryphon dominance was felt on every level except the scoreboard. Paparoni was able to work past his earlier slip to keep his team within one going into the half.
The Gryphons were able to maintain their aggressive ball control and with the added advantage of several strategic substitutions, were able to find their way into the Badger box early on. In the 54th minute, Guelph finally made its mark on the board as Jared Agyemang was able to chip one in over Brock’s keeper. On the ensuing Brock drive, Paparoni made a huge save to keep the game tied at one.
Yet Guelph’s momentum would come to a quick close in the 79th minute as an excellent lead pass found its way through the Gryphon defence to give Brock’s Omar Hamadi (Oakville, Ont) a 1-on-1 opportunity with Chad Paproni to regain the Badgers lead.
But less than 10 minutes later, Colin Aubrey (Ottawa, Ont) made a spectacular sliding strike to connect with a cross to tie the game at two. And, in the 90th minute it seemed that Guelph would earn a last-second victory as they lined up for a corner kick in Brock territory. But Brock’s defence was determined to hold onto the tie and defended the corner beautifully to end the game.
Today’s tie currently leaves the Gryphons tie for fourth in the OUA West standings. The team will look to work its way up the division this Saturday (Oct 13) as they host the McMaster Marauders. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:15pm at the Gryphons Soccer Complex.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
York @ UOIT
The UOIT Ridgebacks men’s soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to the No. 1 CIS ranked York Lions on Wednesday night at Vaso’s Field.
The Lions extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games as they sit in first place in the OUA western conference with an 11-0-1 record. York has outscored their opponents 32-5 this season.
UOIT went stride-for-stride with the CIS powerhouse all night long but were unable to beat Sotiri Varlokostas. The York goalkeeper stopped all four Ridgeback shots on net for his eighth shutout of the season.
UOIT’s defence played a tough game as the 2-0 result was only the fifth time this season that York was held to two or fewer goals.
Travis Martin had a solid game in between the pipes for UOIT as he stopped five York shots on target.
Charlie Trafford and Adrian Pena scored the Lions’ goals, both of which were in the first half. Pena is leading the OUA western conference in scoring with 12 goals on the year.
Wednesday night marked UOIT’s home finale. Aldo Maiorano, Dror David, Daniel Haneo, Alex Razimor and Nic Pandikiu suited up on Vaso’s Field for the last time in their University career.
UOIT will finish their season on the road as they take on Brock (Oct. 13) and McMaster (Oct. 14). The Ridgebacks earned their first win of the year against Brock earlier in the year.
Source: UOIT Sports Info
