M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Lions top Gryphons in battle of nationally-ranked teams
The No. 2 nationally ranked York University Lions men's soccer team defeated the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons 4-1, with three exceptional assists from Jonathon Lao on Saturday (Oct. 4) at York Stadium.
Saturday, October 4
Guelph 1 @ York 4
The No. 2 nationally ranked York University Lions men's soccer team defeated the No. 7 Guelph Gryphons 4-1, with three exceptional assists from Jonathon Lao on Saturday (Oct. 4) at York Stadium.
The Lions and Gryphons were neck-and-neck early in the game, starting off with equal possession and opportunities, but the Lions were able to come out on top with their fast-paced players and excellent defensive slide tackles.
In the first half, York striker Joey Cicchillo (North York, Ont.) scored an exceptionally phenomenal volley in the 10th minute of play after a great pass from Lao.
Only three minutes later, Guelph's Tim Flynn ran through the defence and took a shot that goalkeeper Colm Vance (Bradford, Ont.) was able to cover with his body. Unfortunately, Flynn picked up the deflection and buried the ball in the back of the Lions' net, equalizing the score.
In the 25th minute of play Lao shot a corner kick to the top of the six-foot-four Dena Iezady's (Richmond Hill, Ont.) head and into the Gryphon's net, putting the Lions back into the lead.
In the 33rd minute, Flynn threatened the Lions lead again when his free kick bounced off the inside of the crossbar, but Vance was able to quickly clutch the ball before it could cross over the goal line.
The Lions carried the 2-1 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Lao got involved in the play again, assisting Matt Stinson (Toronto) with a 60th minute goal. He sent another corner into the box that Stinson headed into the top corner of the net to give the Lions a 3-1 lead.
In the 78th minute, Iezady took a shot that deflected off the goal post and landed in front of Cicchillo's foot, and he buried into the net for another goal.
Defenders Daniel Fabrizi (Brampton, Ont.), De Vante Walker (Brampton, Ont.), Casey D'Mello (Mississauga, Ont.) and Henry Moody (Toronto) played a superb defensive game, constantly sweeping the ball away from danger and protecting many shots from reaching Vance.
Vance played a great game saving three difficult shots, only letting one ball fly past him. Guelph goalkeeper Benjamin Caranci shut the Lions down many times as he dove to save six shots from an astounding total of 18 shots on net.
The Lions extended their winning streak to 10 in a row and now have an overall record of 11-0-1, giving them a commanding 12-point lead in the OUA West standings.
Queen's 4 @ Laurentian 0
SUDBURY, Ont. - The men's soccer team earned a 4-0 victory after burying four goals in the second half of Saturday's away match against the Laurentian Voyageurs.
The first half of the match was a scoreless affair as Taylor Reynolds (Kingston, Ont.) of the Gaels and Spencer Karn of the Voyageurs fended off all shots fired on goal.
The Gaels began to dominate play in the second half as Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa) buried two goals in the match, bringing his season total to six. Andrew Martin (Kingston, Ont.) and Patrick van Belleghem (Kenora, Ont.) registered their first goals of the season to help Queen's secure the victory. Van Belleghem's tally is also the first of his Gaels career.
Keeper Maxfield Materne (Toronto) replaced Reynolds late in the match as the Gaels goalkeepers combined for the four save clean sheet.
UOIT 2 @ Trent 1
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The UOIT men's soccer team earned three big points in the standings with a 2-1 victory over Trent University on Saturday afternoon.
UOIT (2-6-4) sits two points back of Nipissing (3-5-3) and one back of Laurentian (3-6-2) for the final two playoff positions in the OUA eastern conference standings. Next weekend will be make it or break it for UOIT as they host both schools beginning on Saturday at noon against the Voyageurs.
After sitting out the previous five matches with an injury, Joe Vaz (Whitby, Ont.) certainly made his presence felt making his return to the line-up as he scored both of UOIT's goals in the win. Vaz opened up scoring 21 minutes into the contest with a header off a corner kick, silencing the Trent supporters in the stands. Later in the half in injury time, Vaz would connect with Alexander Cuccovillo (Ajax, Ont.) for the second time, extending the Ridgeback lead to 2-0.
Playing in front of a rowdy homecoming crowd, Lucas Zubrickas would give the fans something to cheer about midway through the second half as Trent cut the UOIT lead in half. However, the Ridgebacks would manage to maintain their one-goal lead and run out the clock, picking up their first victory since September 13.
Travis Martin (Whitby, Ont.) would stop five of six Trent shots on target for his second win of the year. UOIT outshoot Trent 10-6.
RMC 0 @ Nipissing 4
Queen's 1 @ Nipissing 1 (Sunday)
NORTH BAY, Ont. – The Nipissing Lakers men's soccer team has the habit of leaving things to the last minute.
On more than one occasion this year, they have scored late to tie the game and earn a point when it looked like they were on their way to defeat.
It was a similar story Sunday afternoon as the Lakers hosted Queens, but this time, it was a big save that preserved the single point as Grainger Munro was the hero.
With the game tied 1-1, Queens was award a penalty shot in the dying minutes of the game, but Munro guessed right and made a huge save to keep the game knotted at one.
Time would expire with both teams walking away with a point, giving the Lakers a four point weekend after the tie and a win versus RMC Saturday.
Cale England opened the scoring at the 27 minute mark giving Nipissing a lead that would last until the early minutes of the second half.
The Gaels scored to tie it up on a penalty shot at the 47-minute mark, before the teams battled down the stretch, which set up Munro's heroics on the second penalty shot of the game.
The Lakers now hold a 3-5-4 record, good for 13 points and sixth place in the OUA's East Division, just one point behind Laurentian and three up on UOIT.
Laurier 1 @ McMaster 7
HAMILTON, Ont. – The floodgates opened in the 16th minute, and once they did, the Marauders seemingly scored at will.
Gersi Xhuti had a hat-trick, and four other Marauders scored, as McMaster handed Laurier a heavy 7-1 defeat at Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday.
Their win, in conjunction with Guelph's loss to York, moved the Marauders (8-1-2) five points clear of the Gryphons for second in the OUA West standings.
McMaster's attackers threatened goal almost immediately on Saturday, and it was little surprise when Xhuti followed his bicycle kick off the bar and slotted home on 16 minutes. Little over a minute later, he caught Laurier's defenders napping and broke in for a nearly uncontested finish to double the Marauders lead.
The quick-fire double had the Golden Hawks heads in their hands, and their task got even more diffcult just two minutes later, when Mark Reilly streaked in from the right wing and drove a low shot just inside the far post.
Calmer heads prevailed for the remainder of the half, but the damage was done, and McMaster carried a 3-0 lead into the break.
Xhuti, who had been toying with Laurier's defenders throughout, completed his hat-trick 10 minutes after play resumed, executing a textbook cutback and his shot inside the far post for 4-0.
Laurier clawed one back five minutes later, when Anastasios Sitaridis latched onto a loose ball in the Marauder box and clinically thumped it into the back of Angelo Cavalluzzo's net to deny his bid for the clean sheet.
But it was McMaster's afternoon through and through, and Karl Bicamumpaka restored the four goal advantage with a goal of his own mere moments later in the 62nd minute. Christian Truyen and Marco Gennaccaro added their names to the score sheet to put an exclamation point on Saturday's result.
Algoma 0 @ Waterloo 0
Algoma 1 @ Waterloo 5
WATERLOO, Ont. – The Warriors hosted the Algoma Thunderbirds in a double-header on Saturday/Sunday afternoon, stealing four points from the opposition on route to their first win of the season. Waterloo fought to a 0-0 draw Saturday and got their their first victory of the season on Sunday in 5-1 victory.
Saturday: In Saturday's contest, Waterloo started brightly creating numerous chances. It was completely one-way traffic during the first half with the hosts bombarding the Algoma defence but not able to beat the goalkeeper. The opening half saw the black and gold unable to register a single shot on target in the entire first half. Quality finishes lacked for the Warriors in the second half when the squad managed to put 3 shots on target, however, Algoma's goalkeeper turned each shot away. The main highlight came late in the match when Waterloo thought they broke the deadlock but the goal ruled offside. The game ended in a stalemate 0-0.
Sunday: Sunday's rematch proved to be much better for the Warriors. Waterloo conceded the opening goal off a scramble play in front of Waterloo's goal, but the Warriors rebounded with five unanswered goals to win the match 5-1.
Yusuf Khaled (Burlington), Ethan Tam (Toronto), and Nicholas Karavanas (Markham) all had one goal for the Warriors while Nicholas Rebeiro chipped in with two tallies.
Carleton 3 @ Toronto 1
TORONTO – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team fell 3-1 to the Carleton Ravens on Saturday, October 4 at Varsity Centre.
The Ravens opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a goal from second-year midfielder Walker Smith.
Toronto evened the score just over eight minutes later as team co-captain Mario Kovacevic found the back of the net and the game remained deadlocked at 1-1 at the half.
Smith extended Toronto's lead two minutes of the second half, scoring the eventual game-winner. Juilian Piccioli added an insurance marker for the Ravens in the 75th minute to round out the win.
Sunday, October 5
Carleton 0 @ Ryerson 2
TORONTO – The No. 4 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's soccer team defeated the visiting Carleton Ravens 2-0 on Sunday afternoon at Monarch Park.
The Rams also honoured their graduating players in the annual Senior Day game. Cedric Wong, Josh Kohn, Kyle Stewart and Christian Maraldo are playing in their final season with the Rams and were recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
The Rams were quick to strike as Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.) opened the scoring in the 9th minute of play.
Luka Lee (Toronto) would score his third goal of the season to put Ryerson up 2-0 in the 41st minute.
Neither team would find the scoresheet in a chippy second half which featured six yellow cards and a red card.
"I think the guys took this game personally because of the way U of T beat up on us last week," said Rams associate coach Fil Prostran. "This was the next big game since that one and the guys came out fired up and really with a point to prove."
With the win, Ryerson improves to 10-1-0 on the season and continue to lead the OUA east division standings
Brock 0 @ Western 4
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs moved up to third place in the division and extended their winning streak to three games on Sunday afternoon after climbing to a 4-0 victory over Brock at Mustangs Field.
"We did a good job of holding the ball and maintaining possession and waiting for the opportunity to get in and score the goals," head coach Rock Basacco commented about Sunday's play. "I'm pleased with our attacking play as of late, we've been able to score 10 goals in the last three games, so that part is coming along nicely."
Holding the third spot in the OUA west division, the Mustangs' record improves to 8-4-1, while Brock falls to 1-8-5.
Striker Christian Douglas netted two goals in the victory, and is now tied for second in scoring on the OUA leaderboard.
Western was quick to take control of the game in a mission to claim the win. At the 23-minute mark Amad El-Houni curved a low ball past the Brock keeper to put the Mustangs up 1-0. Just three minutes later the purple and white struck again, as defender Adam Jaekel blasted a shot into the back of the net.
With the scoreboard sitting at 2-0 at the beginning of the second half, Western did not let up on the offensive front. At the 67th minute Douglas would put himself on the scoresheet with a goal for the Mustangs, adding another goal just one minute later off a well-placed header. Despite a push from Brock to try and make a comeback it was just not enough, and the Mustangs came away with the 4-0 victory and the fifth shutout of the season for goalie Ben Cowman.
York 2 @ McMaster 1
HAMILTON, Ont. – A spirited second half wasn't enough to erase McMaster's first-half mistakes on Sunday.
The Marauders conceded twice in the opening 45 minutes, including a goal on the stroke of halftime, and fell 2-1 to the OUA West-leading York Lions at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Joey Cicchillo and Jarek Whiteman had goals for the Lions (12-0-1), who built their cushion atop the division to 11 points with the win.
McMaster's leading scorer Mark Reilly had the lone goal for the Marauders (8-2-2), who remain second in the division and four points clear of the third-place Western Mustangs.
The teams endured a cagey opening to Sunday's game, with York enjoying the bulk of possession but being comfortably held out of dangerous areas by McMaster. That trend was bucked in the 21st minute, when a misjudged back pass from the Marauder back line bypassed goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo. Cicchillo was left with an easy finish, and made no mistake in slotting the ball home.
McMaster was struggling to hold the ball and build with any conviction, and York continued to dominate possession throughout the first half. With the field seemingly tilted in their favour, the Lions doubled their lead a minute before the break, as the Marauders failed to cleanly clear a corner. The ball bobbled through the area without a decisive touch until Whiteman got his head to it at close range and snuck his effort past Cavalluzzo.
Needing to find offensive thrust in the second half, the Marauders made several changes to their lineup when play resumed, with the noticeable introduction of Sasha Ricciuti along the right wing. Paired with the more aggressively-oriented fullback Nic Vecchi, Ricciuti's pace provided a welcome attacking outlet.
McMaster was the more dangerous of the two teams in the second half, but could not apply the finish until Reilly struck in the 84th minute. The forward got in front of the York defenders and raced onto an in-swinging corner kick, diving to head the ball low and past Colm Vance in the York goal.
Reilly's was a pretty goal, and one that the Marauders earned with their improved buildup. But he and his teammates simply ran themselves out of time on Sunday, as one final corner went for naught with Gersi Xhuti electing to play it short in stoppage time.
Laurier 1 @ Windsor 2
WINDSOR, Ont. – The Lancer men's soccer team improved to 7-4-0 on the season and remain in fifth place in the OUA West Division after defeating the Laurier Golden Hawks 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Jumbo Iyowuna came off the bench late in the second half to score a beautiful goal and secure the win for the Lancers. Sam Atkin earned the win in net.
With some early pressure in the first half, Carlos Soares gave Windsor a 1-0 lead after a scramble off a corner kick.
The Golden Hawks didn't let the early goal hold them down and pushed the Lancer defense for the remainder of the first half.
A free kick from the 35 yard line was deflected by Laurier's Trystan Martin and out of the reach of Atkin to tie the game in the 56th minute.
The game remained tight until Iyowuna came off the bench in the 76th minute and made a marvelous turning shot from 25 yards out that landed perfectly in the bottom right corner of the Laurier net.
With the Golden Hawks frustration getting the better of them, the Lancers stayed strong and earned their seventh win of the season.
Other scores:
RMC 0 @ Laurentian 3 (Sunday)
