October 23, 2014

M-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Ridgebacks, Gaels, Golden Hawks and Mustangs advance to quarter-finals

Wednesday, October 22

UOIT 0 @ Carleton 0 (4-2 UOIT penalty kicks)

OTTAWA, Ont. – First playoff appearance – check. First playoff win – check.

The UOIT men's soccer team has advanced to their first Ontario University Athletics (OUA) eastern conference quarter-final with a victory over the Carleton Ravens.

Neither team scored in full time or extra time, sending the game to penalty kicks, which UOIT won 4-2.

In penalty kicks, Carleton elected to shoot last. Cody Kraemer (Whitby, Ont.) was selected as the first Ridgeback to shoot, putting it in top left corner past Felix Daigle. Theodore Lopez de Castilla matched UOIT, beating Travis Martin (Whitby, Ont.) in the bottom right portion of the goal.

Alexander Cuccovillo (Ajax, Ont.) drilled his opportunity to the right of Daigle, putting the Ridgebacks ahead 2-1. Martin turned aside Tristan St. Pierre's attempt, giving UOIT the early advantage.

UOIT's third shooter, Michael Chin-Sang (Pickering, Ont.), made it three-for-three for the Ridgebacks. Carleton answered again, but when George Meditskos (Toronto, Ont.) made it 4-2, the Ravens were unable to beat Martin.

This was Martin's fifth clean sheet of the season and the team's sixth straight win. The Ridgebacks defence had a great effort over the 120-minute game, clearing any Raven attempts inside the box. UOIT had the majority of scoring opportunities in the match as final shots on target finished 7-3 in favour of the Ridgebacks.

The Ridgebacks will now play the Ryerson Rams on Sunday, Oct. 26 in the OUA eastern conference quarter-finals. Game time in Toronto is at 2 p.m

Source: UOIT Ridgebacks

Nipissing 1 @ Queen's 2

Kingston, Ont. (October 22, 2014) - Chris Wellsman (Victoria, B.C.) scored a beautiful game-winning goal in the 105th minute of extra time as the Gaels defeated the Nipissing Lakers 2-1 in OUA playoff action on Miklas-McCarney Field Wednesday night.

The Lakers opened the scoring just nine minutes into the game after Brandon TeBrake buried a rebound past Queen's keeper Maxfield Materne (Toronto). The Gaels responded with a tally of their own in the 23rd minute as Andrew Martin (Kingston, Ont.) buried a strike in the top right corner. Queen's continued to generate scoring opportunities highlighted by a close miss by Eric Koskins (Richmond Hill, Ont.) on a partial breakaway. Materne came up with a game-saving stop in the final minute of regulation, as he slid out to deny Ryan Mantle on a breakaway.

The Gaels broke through in the 105th minute of play, when Wellsman turned a harmless looking play into the play of the match, depositing a powerful strike from about 30 yards out into the top corner. As Queen's held on for the 2-1 victory through the second half of extra time, Wellsman's goal would prove to be the game-winner.

Final shots for the match totalled 23-10 in favour of Queen's. Materne finished the night with six saves while Nipissing's Grainger Munro registered nine.

The Gaels are now set to take on the Toronto Varsity Blues in the East Quarter-Final on Sunday in Toronto.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Laurier 3 @ Guelph 2

Guelph, Ont. – The Gryphon men's soccer team fell just short in their OUA playoff match versus Laurier on Wednesday night, losing 3-2 in extra time in an exhilarating, back and forth game at the Gryphon Soccer Complex.

The Gryphons would open the scoring in the 24th minute thanks to a brilliant individual effort from second year right back Stephen Veenema (Ottawa, Ont.). Veenema was able to dribble through several Laurier defenders before sending a beautiful shot into the back of the net to give the Gryphons a 1-0 lead. That lead however was short-lived as the Golden Hawks would equalize in the 31st minute after Donald Chmura (Waterloo, Ont.) was able to convert from the penalty spot.

The score would remain tied at 1-1 until late in the match, where there was no shortage of drama for the fans in attendance. In the 89th minute, the Gryphons would take the lead thanks to none other than third year striker Jared Agyemang (Brampton, Ont.). The OUA's leading scorer would head home his 17th goal of the campaign to put the Gryphons up 2-1. But the Golden Hawks would once again answer back. In the 90th minute, off a corner, Blake Whiteley (Toronto, Ont.) would bring Laurier even and send things to extra time tied at 2-2.

The Golden Hawks would keep that momentum going in extra time as Tyrrel Wilson (Hamilton, Ont.) would be sent in alone in the 98th minute and would give Laurier a 3-2 lead which they would not relinquish. For the Gryphons, it was a heartbreaking end to a hard-fought, entertaining match. This marks the second consecutive season the Gryphons have lost to Laurier in the OUA quarter-finals. Last year, Laurier won 4-3 in penalty kicks in the West quarter-finals at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. With the win, the Golden Hawks advance to the OUA quarterfinals where they will travel to Toronto to take on number one team in the country, the York Lions.

Source: Guelph Gryphons

Windsor 0 @ Western 1

LONDON, Ont. - An injury time header from Alex Lewis lifted the Western Mustangs men's soccer team to a 1-0 first round playoff victory over the Windsor Lancers on Wednesday evening at Mustangs Field.

Wednesday's match would seem familiar to some – just last year the Mustangs and Lancers faced off in the first round of the OUA Playoffs, with Windsor edging out the Mustangs 1-0 to put them out of championship contention. Now in his fifth year of eligibility, Lewis, along with the rest of the squad looked to make sure they did not meet the same fate again.

Despite the dramatic ending, the majority of the game had not followed suit. From the opening whistle, both the Mustangs and Lancers appeared to be having trouble gaining momentum. With only three shots in the first half, all of which came from the Mustangs, the match would go into halftime with the scoreboard sitting at 0-0 and both teams appearing frustrated.

With a place in the OUA Quarterfinals on the line, the Mustangs would return to the second half determined to quicken the pace and gain themselves the advantage. As the half played out, Western would increase their offensive attack, however despite multiple opportunities on net the purple and white were not able to break through the scoring wall. With the clock slowly running out, it looked as though the game would be heading into overtime – but the Mustangs proved they would not need that.

With four minutes of injury time added and a corner kick for Western, the Mustangs had one last opportunity to try to end the game then and there. As the fans got ready for 30 minutes of added time, Lewis would seize the opportunity connecting with the ball to fire a header into the back of the Lancers' net. With injury time almost out Western would shift to complete defence, holding on until the final whistle sounded to come away with the victory and a pass to the next round of the playoffs.

"You just gotta keep on taking your chances, and hopefully eventually one that pays off and it did on that corner kick," said head coach Rock Basacco on the Mustangs dramatic finish. "You practice set pieces all the time, and it finally came into play and gave us a goal."

The Mustangs now advance to the OUA Quarterfinals, where they will face the McMaster Maurauders after Laurier edged Guelph 3-2 on Wednesday evening to advance to a quarterfinal matchup against the York Lions. The last time the Mustangs made the Quarterfinals was in 2012, when they were put out of contention by a 3-2 defeat to Laurier.

On their upcoming match, Basacco noted "McMaster is a quick, quick team and they've got some exceptional players too. We tied them last time we played them, and so if I had an option I would prefer to play them than York, so we got what we wanted."

Playoff action for the Mustangs continues on Sunday, October 26 when they travel to Hamilton to battle the Marauders for a place in the OUA semifinals; game time is set for 7 p.m.