M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: York edges Western in top-10 battle
The Mustangs men's soccer team suffered their first defeat of the 2014 season this afternoon as the CIS No.2 York Lions downed the Mustangs 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Mustangs Field.
Wednesday, September 10
Laurentian 1 @ Nipissing 1
NORTH BAY, Ont. – Better late than never is a good way to describe Wednesday night's home opener for the Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team as they faced the Laurentian Voyageurs.
The Lakers, who trailed 1-0 for pretty much the entire second half, scored on the final play of the game off a free-kick just above the 18-yard box to earn a 1-1 tie against their northern rivals.
Cale England's shot deflected off Brandon TeBrake and into the back of the net to give the Lakers their first goal of the game which earned them a single point.
After a scoreless first half, the Voyageurs got off to a quick start in the second half, picking up the pace and finding the back of the net thanks to a header off a corner kick in the 47th minute.
After the goal the play picked up considerably with both teams trying to get that next goal – the Lakes to tie things up and the Voyageurs trying to put the game out of reach.
Both teams had chances to score, but it wasn't until late that the Lakers were rewarded for their strong final quarter of the game.
Despite only scoring once, the Lakers did generate 11 shots and a handful of quality chances.
Grainger Munro made his fifth straight start, allowing one goal on 11 shots.
Brock 0 @ McMaster 5
HAMILTON, Ont. – After two low-scoring matches to begin their OUA campaign, the Marauder offence has come alive.
McMaster put five goals past the Brock Badgers on Wednesday, including a hat-trick for senior forward Mark Reilly, and routed the Badgers 5-0 in driving rain at Ron Joyce Stadium. Marco Gennaccaro had a brace of his own for the Marauders, who improved to 2-0-2 on the season with the result.
There was no time wasted by the Marauders, who jumped out an an almost immediate lead when Reilly potted his first of the game in just the sixth minute. Their superior build-up play had the Badgers on the run, and there were no shortage of chances for a second goal in the early stages. Gersi Xhuti came close in the 14th minute, dummying past his defender and forcing an alert stop from the Brock keeper with a hard, rising shot just under the bar.
It was Reilly with the answer once again in the 28th, as he sliced into the box and cut the ball back to create space, before chipping a shot past the onrushing goalkeeper.
Nate Morris very nearly had a third for the Marauders in the 33rd minute, when he spotted the goalkeeper well off his line and sent a low shot toward the far post that narrowly missed and skidded wide.
Before the halftime whistle blew, it was the Badgers who nearly struck against the run of play, as a tight flick in the box found the crossbar but bounced harmlessly over the net.
Regular service resumed as the second half got underway, and McMaster had the third goal that they'd been hinting at when Gennaccaro latched onto an excellent through ball along the left, and calmly fired a shot past the keeper at the near post in the 48th minute.
With the result a near certainty, the two teams appeared to settle in, eager to kill the clock and escape the miserable conditions at Ron Joyce Stadium. But when a penalty shout was answered in the 88th minute, Reilly stepped up and made amends for his miss on the weekend by coolly slotting the spot kick low and past the keeper for 4-0 and a hat-trick. Just a minute later, Gennaccaro had his brace, as he wriggled free of coverage in the area and put home another clinical finish.
Not content with two, Gennaccaro very nearly completed his own hat-trick in stoppage time, but his close-range effort thundered cruelly off the crossbar.
Saturday, September 13
York 1 @ Western 0
LONDON, Ont. – The Mustangs men's soccer team suffered their first defeat of the 2014 season this afternoon as the CIS No.2 York Lions downed the Mustangs 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Mustangs Field.
"I thought our boys played really, really well today. The first half I thought that we sort of took control. Unfortunately we gave up that little goal at the end of the first half," said Mustangs head coach Rock Basacco.
With Saturday's loss the Mustangs now hold a 4-1-1 record in the OUA West Division standings, while the Lions move to 4-0-1 on the season.
The Mustangs and the Lions are certainly no strangers on the field, and in the 2013 regular season the Mustangs met up with York twice, losing both matches. These past encounters certainly gave the Mustangs a reason to up their aggressiveness on the field this afternoon, and the play was pretty evenly matched throughout the first half. Despite being able to match the Lions offensive pressure, the Mustangs found themselves deep in their own end with the Lions in control of the ball late in the first half. Mustangs goaltender Ben Cowman blocked a shot heading towards the bottom right corner of the net, and continued to make what seemed to be a save on the rebound. Unfortunately for the purple and white, the ball was already over the goal line putting the Lions onto the scoreboard with a 1-0 lead with the goal credited to Jarek Whiteman.
In the second half the Mustangs worked hard to pressure the Lions and tie things up. Competition between the two teams intensified as the final minutes wound down but despite a strong effort, the Mustangs were unable to put themselves on the scoreboard and the Lions walked away with the shutout victory.
"We are struggling a little bit in the attacking third trying to get that finish. Hopefully tomorrow we can create a little bit more in that attacking third and get some combination plays or crosses from the flank. Something that will give us a chance on goal," stated Basacco.
Carleton 1 @ Nipissing 0
NORTH BAY, Ont. – After Saturday's game, there's no questioning the Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team's heart, determination or willingness to pay the price.
The Lakers, despite the outcome, were in a battle from start to finish as themselves, as well as the visiting Carleton Ravens, left it all out on the field in an extremely physical game.
A total of 10 yellow cards were handed out, along with some warnings and even two ejections, both to the Ravens coaches.
But in the end, it was the Ravens lone goal off a penalty kick in the 45th minute that made the difference.
The Lakers had a few chances, but overall, they weren't able to sustain a tonne of pressure throughout the 90 minutes.
The best chances for the Lakers came from free-kicks and corner kicks as they sent a number of balls towards the net, but none rippled the twine.
The Lakers now hold a record of 1-3-2 after their first three weekends of action.
Four of those games were played on the road, with just two – Wednesday and Saturday – being played in North Bay.
While it's not the start the team was looking for, they'll have the chances to get back in the win column next weekend when they host Trent and UOIT, which will wrap up the first half of the season.
All three teams are right around the middle of the pack, so a big weekend from the Lakers could put some separation between themselves and the bottom part of the standings which would go a long way in securing a playoff spot and challenging the top teams.
Queen's 1 @ Trent 0
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Chris Michael (Ottawa, Ont.) scored the lone goal of the game as the Gaels defeated Trent 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The Gaels were able to grab the early lead when Michael buried his first goal of the season in the 10th minute of the match. This proved to be enough as Queen's strong defensive play secured the win as they limited Trent to five shots on goal.
Gaels keeper Taylor Reynolds (Kingston, Ont.) earned the shutout win and improved his record to 3-0-1 on the season. Final shots on goal for the match were 14-5 in favour of Queen's. The Gaels currently sit atop the OUA East Division with thirteen points after today's win.
RMC 1 @ UOIT 2
OSHAWA, Ont. – Behind a strong second half effort, the UOIT men's soccer team earned their first win of the season as they defeated the RMC Paladins by a score of 2-1 at Vaso's Field on Saturday afternoon.
After falling behind 1-0 after 45 minutes, UOIT's performance on the field took a complete 180 turn as they started to put a ton of pressure on the Paladins defensive unit. The Ridgebacks would eventually score off a free kick, when the ball deflected off defender Davon Greaves (Brampton, Ont.) to the left foot of Tristan Maenza (Courtice, Ont.) who scored his first goal of the season.
In the 82nd minute, Erik Petrovic (Sombor, Serbia) was tripped up inside the box resulting in a penalty kick. Petrovic would get the honour of taking it and he would make no mistake, netting his second goal of the year and first game winner.
With one minute remaining before injury time, RMC had thought they had tied it up as they headed a ball past UOIT goalkeeper Travis Martin (Whitby, Ont.) off a free kick. However, UOIT defender Brendan Costello (Oshawa, Ont.) was undercut by an RMC attacker and a foul was called resulting in a free kick.
RMC goalkeeper Tobin Semple had an outstanding game as he made 10 saves, seven of which were in the second half. Martin made four saves in the Ridgebacks first win of the season.
Guelph 3 @ Windsor 2
WINDSOR, Ont. – The Gryphon men's soccer team earned a 3-2 win over the Windsor Lancers Saturday in Windsor. The Gryphons advance to 3-0-2 on the season while the Lancers drop to 2-2.
The Lancers struck first on the day scoring a goal from Iyowuna Jump at 3:10. The first half remained even from there until Guelph's Jared Agyemang scored in the 38th minute to even the game heading into the half.
Guelph opened the second half with an early goal as Agyemang headed the ball towards the Lancer net but the ball ricocheted off the cross bar and straight to his teammate Ethan Danielli who kicked it past the Lancer goaltender Sam Atkin. With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Lancers earned a penalty kick but Gryphon goaltender Benjamin Caranci made a diving save.
The teams traded goals with one by Owen Botelho to give the Gryphons a two goal lead at 74 mintues but Windsor got within one behind a goal from Iyowuna Jumpo at 81 minutes. The Lancers narrowly missed the tying goal minutes later but it went wide.
Brock 1 @ Waterloo 1
WATERLOO, Ont. – The Brock University men's soccer team (0-4-2 OUA) grabbed their second point of the 2014 season as they played the Waterloo Warriors to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon on the road.
Waterloo opened the scoring 15 minutes into the opening half, as Nicholas Karavanas beat Brock goalkeeper Jake Sweetzer for his first goal of the season. The Warriors led 1-0 after 45 minutes, thanks to the play of goalkeeper Thomas Modjesch who stopped all six shots he faced.
In the second half, the young Brock squad battled hard and had a number of key scoring opportunities, but could not solve Modjesch. In extra time, with the pressure building, it was Badgers necomer Philip Kealey who drilled a shot into the top hand corner from 25 yards out past Modjesch for the equalizer.
In goal, Sweetzer recorded three saves for the Badgers while Modjesch collected nine saves.
Laurier 9 @ Algoma 1
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team soared to a 9-1 victory in the first of two matches against the Algoma Thunderbirds in Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday afternoon.
Both the Hawks and the Thunderbirds wasted no time in getting down to business in the first half. Hawks forward Anastasios Sitardis of Toronto, opened the scoring with a tenth minute goal, his first of three on the day. However, Thunderbirds forward Suhayb Khatiri responded just three minutes later to pull his team even.
But that would be the only goal the Hawks would let the newly inaugurated OUA team get for the rest of the game. Sitaridis put two more past Thunderbird goalkeep Daniel Heydrich in the first half, as did midfielder Cameron Stephan of Brantford, Ont. The final goal to end the first half with a 6-1 score came off the foot of midfielder Michael Warden of Oakville, Ont.
The Hawks wrapped up the win in the second half with one goal each by Nikola Miokovic of Kitchener, Ont., Sean Malizia of Burlington, Ont., and Tyrrel Wilson of Hamilton, past goalkeep Nick Palazzi, who was in net for the Thunderbirds in the second half.
Sunday, September 14
Ryerson 2 @ Toronto 1
TORONTO – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team fell 2-1 to the No. 5 Ryerson Rams on Sunday, September 14 at Varsity Centre.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 2-2-1, while the Rams improve to 5-0-0 on the season.
Toronto still holds the upper hand in the head-to-head series, now 36-9-5 with the Rams since their first meeting in 1959. Ryerson, however has gone 5-0-1 versus the Blues in their last six meetings.
The Rams pressured early with a couple of good chances in the opening minutes. Ryerson's best chance came in the 17th minute off a Misel Klisava free kick, but Blues goalkeeper Mark Rogal was there to make the stop.
It was Toronto who opened the scoring in the 29th minute when sophomore Russell Rodrigues sent a cross to fifth-year striker Kilian Elkinson (Toronto), who tapped it in for his OUA-leading sixth goal of the season.
The Blues almost scored again two minutes later when an Elkinson corner kick curled towards the far send of the net, but Rams defender Josh Kohn was there to head it out of harms way.
The Rams evened the score just before the half as Ryerson leading scorer Marko Miketic (Thornhill, Ont.) hit the mesh in the 44th minute.
Ryerson notched the go-ahead goal in the 53rd minute when Martin Dabrowski sent a cross to rookie Raheem Rose, who made no mistake getting the ball past Rogal.
Rogal came up with a big diving save on Miketic in the 67th minute to keep the game within reach. Two minutes later, Elkinson's shot rang off the cross bar and the Rams maintained their one-goal advantage.
Ryerson had another chance to score on a 2-on-1 in the 76th minute, but Rogal came out to challenge and got the save.
Despite their best efforts, the Blues were unable to mount the comeback in the 2-1 loss. Rogal posted four saves in the loss.
The Varsity Blues return to the field next Saturday, September 20 as they host the RMC Paladins at Varsity Centre. The game will be streamed live on OUA.tv, starting at 3:15 p.m.
Carleton 1 @ Laurentian 1
SUDBURY, Ont. – A late goal from Zef Kraja in the 82' minute secured a tie for the Carleton Ravens.
Laurentian opened the scoring early in the second half, when Omar Allison beat Carleton keeper Felix Daigle in the 48' minute.
Despite tremendous second half pressure, landing six shots on target, Laurentian was unable to break the tie.
Laurier 10 @ Algoma 0
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Paced by an incredible four-goal game from rookie defender Tahrik Rodriques of Scarborough, Ont., the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team (3-2-1) completed a weekend sweep of the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-6-0) with a 10-0 win on Sunday afternoon.
Rodriques, a graduate of R.H. King Academy, opened the scoring with his first career OUA tally just 13 minutes into the contest. He would score twice more in the opening half to cap the hat-trick before rounding out his day with his fourth of the game in the 50th minute.
Six other Hawks also got in on the offensive outburst including Jordan Kotsopoulos of Burlington, Ont., Anastasios Sitaridis of Toronto, Tyrrel Wilson of Hamilton, Blake Whiteley of Toronto, Nikola Miokovic of Kitchener, Ont., and Niklas Bauer of Newmarket, Ont., who all had singles.
For Whiteley, a fourth year defender, the goal was his first as a Golden Hawk.
In goal, Julien John of Oakville, Ont., earned his second consecutive victory by making one save in his 65 minutes of action. He was replaced by Jovan Brudiu of Kitchener, Ont., for the remaining 25 minutes of the game.
Western 1 @ Guelph 2
GUELPH, Ont. – Tim Flynn scored the game winner in the dying minutes to lift the Gryphon men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over the Western Mustangs on Sunday at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.
The Gryphons advance to 4-0-2 on the season while the Mustangs drop to 4-2-1.
Mixing up their starting lineup, Guelph's offence and defense were both put to work in the first half as possession bounced back and forth between the opponents. Starting defender Andrew Sacchetti (Hamilton, Ont.) was diligent in clearing the ball from Guelph's zone and right winger Paris Roserie (Mississauga, Ont.) applied offensive pressure. Despite Guelph's best efforts, Western scored in the 16th minute to bring the score to 1-0 in the first half.
The game took a more physical turn in the second half, with a yellow card issued to Guelph and a red card to Western. Gryphon rookie forward Estevan Carles (Barrie, Ont.) was substituted at halftime and scored his first season goal in the 75th minute as he jumped over Western's diving goalie to tie up the score.
Guelph's starting centre Timothy Flynn (Scarborough, Ont.) re-joined the game in the 79th minute and scored an exhilarating goal with a header off of a corner kick in the 90th and final minute of play to bring the Gryphons to their fourth victory of the season.
Goalie Benjamin Caranci (Richmond Hill, Ont.) saved a total of six shots throughout the game and kept Western to only one goal with the help of defender Justin Springer (Burlington, Ont.).
RMC 0 @ Trent 1
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – Marlon Adams goal in the 60' minute held up as Trent defeated the Paladins at home.
McMaster 4 @ Waterloo 0
WATERLOO, Ont. – The Warriors opened their second game of the weekend against a strong McMaster squad on Sunday afternoon in what was a very physical affair. The Marauders controlled possession much of the match and scored four second-half goals to defeat the Warriors 4-0. Warriors move to 0-4-1 on the season.
Yusuf Khaled (Burlington) opened the match missing a near opportunity in the 4th minute off a driving shot from a tough angle. The physicality in the match picked up substantially early on with many poor tackles leading to numerous spot kicks for McMaster.
The Marauders Mark Riley earned a penalty shot in the 21st minute after goalkeeper Tomas Modjesch conceded a late tackle. Riley missed the net on the penalty shot which kept the game knotted at 0-0.
McMaster continued to maintain possession and generated much of the offence before the Warriors' Matthew Cimino (Guelph) made a goal-saving header in the 31st minute to clear the black and gold's goal line. Nodjosch would continue his stellar play by back-stopping a breakaway by the Marauders in the 42nd minute. The teams would head into the break in a scoreless draw very much to the delight of the Warriors.
McMaster would come out firing in the second half with strong ball possession and an eagerness to break the deadlock. McMaster thought they had opened the scoring in the 50th minute only to be taken back after a foul by the Marauders striker.
The physicality in the match would increase before both captains received a yellow card in the 52nd minute for unsportsmanlike behavior. Waterloo would generate a goal of their own in the 61st minute but it was called back due to a close offside call.
McMasters substitute Kyle Kazda would open the scoring in the 67th minute off a solid cross in from the Marauders midfield. Mark Reilly would make a great turn shortly after and distribute the ball to teammate Christian Truyen for the easy tap-in to extend the lead to 2-0. Chris Luxton would add a tally in the 84th minute and David Serafini would add a fourth in the 92nd minute to bring the game to a close. McMaster dominated the Warriors in the 4-0 victory.
UOIT 0 @ Queen's 1
KINGSTON, Ont. – The Gaels claimed their fifth win of the season as they defeated UOIT 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Queen's men's soccer team came out firing and opened their match with a goal in the second minute of play. Rohan Sarna (Mississauga, Ont.) took advantage of his first start of the year when he netted his first goal of the season on a great cross from Tommy Hong (Oakville, Ont.). Queen's continued to control play as they limited UOIT to just one shot on goal in the half. The men were able to create several additional scoring chances off of corner kicks but could not add to their lead.
The Gaels continued their strong play in the second half as they looked to secure their their second consecutive six-point weekend. The team was once again able to generate numerous chances but could not bury another past UOIT goalkeeper Travis Martin. Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa) could not add to adding to his team-leading four goals this season, coming close on a great individual effort, but steered the ball wide of the left post. Gaels keeper Taylor Reynolds (Kingston, Ont.) made two more saves in the half as he earned his second clean sheet of the weekend.
The Gaels (5-0-1) will look to continue their unbeaten streak next Saturday when they travel to Toronto to take on the undefeated Ryerson Rams (5-0-0).
York 3 @ Windsor 0
WINDSOR, Ont. – The York University Lions men's soccer team achieved another victory this weekend after defeating the Windsor Lancers by a score of 3-0 on Sunday (Sept. 14) in Windsor, Ont.
The Lions wasted no time in killing off the game within the first five minutes after kickoff. Omari Morris (Ajax, Ont.) and Jarek Whiteman (Brampton, Ont.) scored a goal each in the 2nd and 5th minutes, respectively to give the Lions an early, insurmountable lead. The goal was Whiteman's sixth of the season in as many games.
Dena Iezady of Richmond Hill, Ont., scored the only goal of the second half in the 54th minute to give the Lions the win.
Goalkeeper Colm Vance (Bradford, Ont.) kept another clean sheet with two saves in the final minute. On the opposite side, Lancers goalkeeper Alec Borsos was kept busy by the Lions' attackers. Despite conceding three goals, Borsos was able to contribute five saves to the Lancers' defence.
With the victory, the Lions lead the table in the OUA West standings with 16 points and a record of 5-0-1.
