AROUND OUA: Blues edge Voyageurs 1-0 to improve to 3-1
Nirun Sivananthan's lone goal in the 80th minute was all the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team needed as they came away with a 1-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, September 12 in Sudbury, Ont.
SCOREBOARD
Nirun Sivananthan's lone goal in the 80th minute was all the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team needed as they came away with a 1-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, September 12 in Sudbury, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 3-1-0 and sit in second place in the OUA East division.
Sivananthan headed in a beautiful cross from Dakar Charles late in the match to seal the victory.
Blues goalkeeper and co-captain Rab Bruce-Lockhart made nine saves on the day.
"Laurention put a great effort forward and really made our lives difficult," said Bruce-Lockhart. "We held our nerve and didn't let them rattle us. In the end, our game plan prevailed and we scored a great late goal."
The Varsity Blues are back at it tomorrow afternoon as they head to North Bay, Ont., to take on the Nipissing Lakers. Game time is set for 2:15 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Ravens hand Ridgebacks first conference loss of season
OTTAWA, Ont. – UOIT's undefeated streak to start the OUA men's soccer season came to halt on Saturday as they were shut out by Carleton 3-0.
With the win, Carleton got some revenge on UOIT as the Ridgebacks went 2-0 against the Ravens in Ottawa last season, including a win in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
In Saturday's match UOIT failed to apply any pressure in the offensive zone, only registering two shots on goal that came in the first half. Carleton would control possession in the Ridgebacks zone that resulted in 12 corners kicks for the Ravens.
Andrew Bryan scored two goals and Daud Dahir had one for the Ravens.
Carleton (3-1-1) jumps ahead of UOIT (2-1-1) in the OUA eastern conference standings, with the Ridgebacks having a game in hand.
UOIT will play a friendly against the University of Ottawa on Sunday followed by a road match against the nationally ranked Ryerson Rams on Wednesday.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Three different goal scorers lead Rams past Lakers
NORTH BAY, Ont. – The No. 5 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's soccer team found goals from three different sources en route to a 3-1 victory over the Nipissing Lakers in North Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Misel Klisara (Mississauga, Ont.) opened the scoring with his first of the season just six minutes into play. Rams freshman Jacob Bolton (Halifax, N.S.) netted his first OUA goal nine minutes later to double Ryerson's lead in the 15th minute.
Nipissing's Andrija Bago cut the lead in half in the 35th minute to make it 2-1 Rams at the half.
An insurance marker from Rams midfielder Marko Miketic (Thornhill, Ont.) in the 82nd minute rounded out the scoring.
Goalkeeper Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, Ont.) made eight saves on the nine shots he faced for the win while Nipissing keeper Grainger Munro stopped six of nine shots.
Ryerson (3-0-1) stays undefeated on the year and takes over sole possession of first place in the OUA east division standings. The Rams will be back in action on Sunday to take on Laurentian (1-2-1) at 2:15 p.m. in Sudbury.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Rookie Kotsopoulos nets hat trick as Gryphons beat Brock 6-1
Guelph, ON – Led by a hat trick from first year striker Jace Kotsopoulos (Burlington, ON), the Gryphons Men's Soccer team scored six unanswered goals to roll past Brock 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 3-1-1 on the season while the Badgers fall to 1-4-0.
Things were not looking good for the Gryphons early on when a sixth minute cross from Badgers' freshman midfielder, Nathan Briglio, deflected off a Guelph defender into the net. Youssef Zaghoul got the offence going for the Gryphons in the 24th minute, when he was taken down inside the box earning a penalty shot for the Gryphons and a yellow card for Badgers' defender Terrance Giangregomo. First year striker and second leading scorer in the OUA, Jace Kotsopoulos, would step up to take the penalty and easily put the ball in the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.
Right the first half came to a close, the Gryphons would take a 2-1 lead. Once again, it was Youssef Zaghoul helping create on the attack. This time, Zaghoul split a pair of Brock defenders before placing a perfectly weighted through ball to substitute Atchu Siva (Brampton, ON). Siva easily slid home his second goal of the season as the home team took a 2-1 lead into the break at half.
In the second half, the Gryphons would add to their lead in the 54th minute. Zaghoul would show some great strength to fight off several Brock defenders at the top of the 18-yard box before laying off to Jace Kotsopoulos who then sent a beautiful strike into the back of the net for his second goal of the match to give the Gryphons a 3-1 lead. Less than five minutes later, Zaghoul would draw another penalty which was once again converted by Kotsopoulos. For Kotsopoulos, it marked his third goal of the match and fifth goal of the season as the Gryphons suddenly led 4-1.
In the 62nd minute, Brock appeared to have a clear breakaway until Gryphons centre back Justin Springer (Burlington, ON) caught up and took the ball away. A quick Gryphons counter attack led to Zaghoul powering the ball across the box into the bottom left corner of the net for his second goal in as many games to make it 5-1 Guelph. Zaghoul forced two penalty shots, and was directly responsible for five goals this afternoon.
When asked about all the chances he created, Zaghoul had this to say, "I felt it coming the whole time, I was playing hard and assisting my team, I knew I had to keep my head up and keep going. I was waiting for my chance, and I took it." In the 90th minute, centre back Conor O'Callaghan (Vancouver, B.C.) put the nail on the coffin, scoring the Gryphons' sixth goal of the night from just outside the area.
Substitutes, Siva and Willem Grant were very confident on the ball and made impacts on the game as soon as they stepped on the field. Captain Justin Springer led the way for a back four that was solid all match long for the Gryphons. After the match, Springer explained "It's about sticking to the game plan and knowing where to be and how to react. The coaches always do a great job of preparing us for the challenges we are going to face."
Up next for the Gryphons, a trip to York on Sunday afternoon to take on the defending National Champions in the York Lions. The match is scheduled to start at 3:15pm and can be seen live online at OUA.tv
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Mustangs battle Laurier to scoreless draw on home turf
LONDON, Ont. - Mustangs goalie Ben Cowman earned himself a shutout on Saturday afternoon but he wasn't the only one, as Western played the Laurier Golden Hawks to a scoreless draw at Mustang Field.
The tie puts Western in fifth place in the OUA West Division, while Laurier is sits at sixth.
"Probably wasn't one of our best performances," said Western head coach Rock Basacco. "We certainly played a bit better in the second half. There was just a little more urgency in our play and a little bit better in terms of our technical skills. We didn't generate enough chances on goal to score. You should be able to create good quality chances throughout the game, as opposed to trying to win the game in the last five minutes. That's not the way to win games."
The entirety of the game saw few shots on net for both teams. Of Laurier's 11 shots, only six were on goal, and Cowman shut down all of them. On the other end of the field, Laurier's goalies Matthew Goncalves and Jovan Brudiu received only four shots on net, all of which they were able to stop.
The game was also fairly matched in possession. With the closeness in competition, the game got heated quickly. In the 18th minute of the game, Western's Taso Bujouves got the first of Western's four yellow cards. Seventeen minutes later, Tahrik Rodriques received the first of Laurier's three yellow cards.
Heading into the second half with no score on the board, the Mustangs cleaned up their game and played with the urgency that they lacked in the first half. Due to injuries, seven minutes were added at the end of the game. Most of that time was spent in front of Laurier's net but no shots were able to make it through.
Aaron Schneebeli, a key component of Western's defensive line, discussed what he thought the team needs to do moving forward.
"We need to work on keeping the ball a little bit better, and moving forward with the ball, creating chances, creating shots on net, and getting goals," said Schneebeli. "We have to come out with more intensity. We have to come out sharper, come out with more fight."
The Mustangs play at home again on Sunday, September 12 at 3:15 p.m. against the Waterloo Warriors.
Source: Western Mustangs
Gaels hold on to a 2-1 win against RMC
KINGSTON, Ont. (September 12, 2015) – The Queen's Gaels (1-1-2) faced the RMC Paladins (0-4-0) at RMC in Kingston on Saturday afternoon. A late penalty kick goal from Kristian Zanette (Thunder Bay, Ont.) selaed the victory for Queen's 2-1.
The Gaels started the game with a goal on RMC as Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa) scored for Queen's in the 19th minute. RMC bounced back later in the opening frame with a goal from Graeme Curran's to tie it up before half-time. Entering the second half, both teams were tied 1-1.
Queen's came out in the second and stole the show with a goal from Zanette in the 76th minute that decided the game for Queen's. Zanette struck to beat RMC keeper Tobin Semple on a penalty kick and made no mistake giving the Gaels a 2-1 lead late in the match.
Gaels keeper Taylor Reynolds (Kingston, Ont.) went untested after that thanks to Queen's shut down defending and they took their first win of the season 2-1 over RMC.
Reynolds finished the game with one save for the win while Semple had five saves in a losing effort.
Source: Queen's Gaels
