AROUND OUA: Gryphons pick up big 2-0 win over Marauders
Guelph, ON- Saturday afternoon (Oct 17) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex, the Gryphons Men's Soccer team took down the third place McMaster Marauders 2-0. Guelph improves to 7-5-2 while Mac falls to 10-4-0.
SCOREBOARD
RMC 0 @ Trent 1
Gryphons pick up big 2-0 win over Marauders
Guelph, ON- Saturday afternoon (Oct 17) at the Gryphon Soccer Complex, the Gryphons Men's Soccer team took down the third place McMaster Marauders 2-0. Guelph improves to 7-5-2 while Mac falls to 10-4-0.
Guelph had control of the match right from the get-go. Midfielder, Ben Jackson (St. Catharines, ON) opened the scoring from a free kick 25 yards out in the 30th minute. Jackson stepped up, sent the ball straight over the wall and the shot did not look like it was going to hit the target until it dipped right at the end. Thanks to that brilliant strike from Guelph's rookie midfielder, the Gryphons led 1-0 at the half.
The Gryphons came out just as strong for the second half. Beautiful team play led to a great chance sent over the net by Ethan Danielli; Zachary Rushe took a shot that was blocked by a uncalled handball; and the Gryphons consistent attack led to one corner after another. However, despite the Gryphons dominant play early in the 2nd half, momentum seemed to be swinging McMaster's way in the 70th minute Guelph conceded a penalty shot. With only a one-goal lead, it looked as if the game would surely be tied. Mac's penalty taker stepped up to the spot and sent the ball to the left side of the net, but Gryphons keeper Ben Caranci dove to make the save. And he wasn't done there. With the rebound still in play, Caranci quickly got up and made another diving save to maintain the one-goal lead.The momentum once again belonged to the Gryphons. In the 76th minute, the Gryphons would extend their lead when Jalen Noronha's cross was deflected in by a Marauder defender as the Gryphons would go on to take the three points with a 2-0 win.
The win over third-place McMaster was even more impressive when you consider the Gryphons were forced to field a lineup without the country's second-leading scorer in rookie Jace Kotsopoulos, as well as starting left back Owen Botelho. Kotsopoulos was resting a lingering hamstring injury while Botelho is scheduled to have an MRI sometime this week on a serious knee injury.
The Gryphons look to continue in their winning ways when they visit Wilfrid Laurier (4-4-4) Oct 23 at 8:15 pm.
Source: Guelph Gryphons
Five goals power Rams over Nipissing
TORONTO - The No. 6 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's soccer team flexed their offensive muscle on Saturday, netting five goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Nipissing Lakers at Downsview Park.
The Rams set the tone early as Raheem Rose (Etobicoke, Ont.) scored his eighth goal of the season just three minutes into the game. After a Rams corner kick bounced around in the box, Kyle Stewart (Kingston, Jamaica) found Rose open near the left post where he buried the game's first goal.
Nipissing tied the game at ones when Matthew Anderson got his head on a great delivery from Mathieu Simard in the 28th minute.
Before the half was over the Rams had reclaimed the lead when Martin Dabrowski (Barrie, Ont.) capitalized on a misclearance in the Lakers box to score his third of the season in the 38th minute. The goal gave the Rams a 2-1 halftime advantage.
The Rams weren't satisfied with a one-goal lead and piled on three unanswered goals in the second half. Nick Lambis (Pickering, Ont.) got his sixth of the season in the 57th minute before Jamie Baker (Aurora, Ont.) scored in the 80th and 86th minutes to round out the scoring.
With the win the Rams improve to 9-1-3 on the season and maintain their grasp on top spot in the OUA east division. With the postseason looming, head coach Filip Prostran is concentrated on getting everyone the work they need to head into the playoffs strong.
"Overall the guys came in from the first minute to the last pretty focused and we took care of business. We need to be playing our best coming into the end of the season. We're so deep, we used (all) six subs and the standard didn't change. Going into playoffs you want to be deep...and want to have options and we do; that's the strength of our team."
The loss drops Nipissing's record to 4-3-6 and they remain in fifth place in the division.
Ryerson is back in action on Sunday when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs starting at 2:15 p.m. at Downsview Park.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Blues come back to tie Voyageurs
The No. 10 University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team drew a 1-1 decision against the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 17) at Varsity Centre.
With the tie, the Blues are now 8-3-2 and remain in second place in the OUA East division.
The nationally ranked Blues dominated possession throughout the entirety of the contest but a defensive stalemate saw both teams carry a 0-0 draw until the 72nd minute.
With a strong through ball, the Voyageurs snuck behind the U of T defence and drew a hard foul inside the box, which was awarded immediately with a penalty shot. Second half substitution Omar Allison converted the opportunity in the bottom left corner, just beating the outstretched arms of Blues goalkeeper Mark Rogal.
Following the goal the Varsity Blues went back on the offensive looking for the equalizer. Battling through snow and a jam-packed Laurentian back-line, U of T came up with several chances and in the 83rd minute found the tying goal courtesy of third-year striker Antonio Ajhert.
The Varsity Blues have no time to rest following the tough draw as they welcome the Nipissing Lakers to Varsity Stadium tomorrow afternoon (Oct. 18). Kickoff is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Before the game the Varsity Blues will be honouring their graduating players.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
SAULT STE MARIE, Ont. - The Brock University men's soccer team kept their playoff hopes alive as they defeated the Algoma Thunderbirds by the score of 2-1 Saturday afternoon.
Brock opened the scoring five minutes into the opening half as Eric Serafino (Maple, Ont.) beat Algoma starting goalkeeper Nicholas Palazzi for his second goal of the season.
In the 28th minute, Algoma's Naif Alhajri added his first goal of the campaign, beating Brock starter Matthew Zaikos (Markham, Ont).
Before the end of the first half, Brock senior midfielder Omar Hamadi (Oakville, Ont.) recorded his second goal of the season to put the Badgers up 2-1, which proved to be the game winner.
Zaikos registered five saves for the victory. He currently leads the OUA with 93 saves on the season. Palazzi added seven saves in the loss.
The two teams meet again Sunday afternoon at 3:15pm with the Badgers needing another victory in their hunt for the playoffs.
Source: Brock Badgers
Golden Hawks drop 2-0 decision to No. 3 ranked Lancers
WATERLOO, Ont. (October 17, 2015) - The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team experienced a repeat of their September 13th game against the Windsor Lancers as they lost 2-0 to their nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday night.
It was Michael Pio of Windsor, Ont., and Jamar Redhead of Thronhill, Ont. who controlled the field, scoring a goal in the first and second half respectively.
Niklas Bauer of Newmarket, Ont., led Laurier in shot attempts during the match, however he was unable to slip one past Kyle Vizirakis of Windsor, Ont., who managed to successfully block all seven shots aimed his way to maintain a clean sheet for the game.
The loss against Windsor drops Laurier to (4-5-4), while Windsor (11-2-1) maintains their grip on first place in the OUA West division. Windsor holds a two-point cushion over the idle York Lions for first place while the Hawks sit tied for fifth with the Western Mustangs.
Next up for the Hawks is a home game against the McMaster Marauders on Sunday, October 18. Kick-off is set for 3:15 p.m. at University Stadium.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
