October 16, 2014

M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Golden Hawks score twice in final 2 minutes to draw Gryphons

(Photo Credit: Thomas Kolodziej)

Wednesday, October 15th

Guelph 2 @ Laurier 2

WATERLOO, Ont. (October 15, 2014) - Nikola Miokovic of Kitchener, Ont., and Justin Manning of Milton, Ont., scored in the final two minutes of play to help the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team earn a 2-2 draw with the Guelph Gryphons on Wednesday afternoon at University Stadium.

After staking the Gryphons to a two-goal advantage in the second half, the Hawks had a memorable final two minutes of the game to earn the tie. First, Manning tied the game with his first goal of the season, and third of his career, in the 88th minute before the rookie Miokovic put home his fifth goal of the season to level the Hawks in the 90th minute in thrilling fashion.

Jared Agyemang of Brampton, Ont., and Paris Roserie of Mississauga, Ont., had scored five minutes apart for Guelph midway through the second half to put their team in an excellent position to win.

The furious rally by the purple and gold provided a measure of satisfaction for the home team after the Gryphons had won the first meeting between the two teams with a last-minute goal back in September.

Mackenzie Craig of Ajax, Ont., earned the draw after coming on in relief of starter Julien John of Oakville, Ont., in the 70th minute. Craig did not face a shot on goal during the match while John stopped three of the five shots he faced.

Benjamin Caranci of Richmond Hill, Ont., made two saves in goal for Guelph.

The single point moves Laurier one step closer to clinching the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA West division. The Hawks, now 4-8-3 on the season, have a six-point cushion on the Brock Badgers (1-7-6), who have two games remaining on the season.

Laurier can clinch a playoff berth on Saturday against the Badgers as they travel to St. Catharines. A win or a draw for the Hawks will be enough to eliminate Brock, despite the Badgers have a game in hand. A loss will mean Laurier will have to wait and see the outcome of the Brock-Waterloo match on Sunday.

Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. at Brock Field.

Source: Laurier Golden Hawks

UOIT 3 @ Ryerson 0

TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams men's soccer team was upset by the UOIT Ridgebacks by a final score of 3-0 on Wednesday night at Monarch Park Stadium.

UOIT's Joe Vaz opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when he capitalized on a poor clearance, depositing a highlight reel goal into the back of the net. The Ridgebacks would hold the 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.

George Meditskos doubled the visitors' lead in the 57th minute when he got just enough on an entry pass to deflect it past Rams keeper Christian Maraldo (Mississauga, Ont.).

In unfamiliar territory, down 2-0, the Rams pressed to find the back of the net. Luka Lee (Toronto) generated several opportunities by using his speed down the right wing and delivering quality entry balls but no Rams players could connect.

Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.) had the best opportunity to get the Rams on the board when he used his chest to direct one of Lee's entries towards the goal but the ball fell right to the Ridgebacks keeper.

Alexander Cuccovillo rounded out the scoring in the 84th minute when he pressured Maraldo and then blocked the ensuing clearance to have a wide open net to slide the ball into.

Ryerson outshot the Ridgebacks 18-8 but couldn't solve UOIT keeper Travis Martin who made nine saves for the cleansheet victory.

UOIT has now won four straight games and sit in fifth place in the OUA east division.

The Rams could have clinched first place in the OUA east division with a win on Wednesday but instead will have to wait until the final weekend of regular season action to stake that claim. Ryerson remains atop the standings with an 11-3-0 record, four points ahead of Toronto and Queen's who sit tied for second place.

Ryerson closes the regular season with a road trip to face the Laurentian Voyageurs and Nipissing Lakers this weekend.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Trent 0 @ Toronto 3

TORONTO, Ont. - The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team defeated the Trent Excalibur 3-0 on Wednesday, October 15 at Varsity Centre.

With the win, the Blues improve to 9-3-2 and remain tied with the Queen's Gaels for second place, with a game in hand, in the OUA East division.

Goalkeeper Rab Bruce-Lockhart started the game with a bang for the Blues, stopping a Trent penalty kick by Joshua Braga in the fourth minute of the match.

Team co-captain Mario Kovacevic opened the scoring in the 30th minute when he deked around a Trent defender and sent the ball into the far left side of the net.

Fellow co-captain Ezequiel Lubocki followed suit, and seven minutes later received a pass from Nirun Sivananthan and sent a booming shot from outside the box into the back of the net.

Toronto was up 2-0 at the half.

Fourth-year defender Justin Liendo added a late goal in the 87th minute to round out the scoring.

Bruce-Lockhart made two saves and earned the clean sheet, while Excalibur keeper David Ellis posted eight saves in the loss.

The Varsity Blues head to North Bay, Ont., this Saturday, October 18 to take on the Nipissing Lakers. Game time is set for 2:15 p.m.

The Varsity Blues also honoured graduating seniors Andrew Chan, Jason Cordeiro, Justin Liendo, Kilian Elkinson, Mario Kovacevic and Ezequiel Lubocki in a pre-game presentation.