AROUND OUA: Blues blank Lakers for big win to open 2016 season

SCOREBOARD

Ryerson 1 @ Laurentian 0

Toronto 5 @ Nipissing 0

Carleton 3 @ Trent 0

Blues blank Lakers for big win to open 2016 season

Fourth-year forward Antonio Ajhert scored two goals in leading the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team to a 5-0 season-opening victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday afternoon in North Bay, Ont.
 
Ajhert opening the scoring early, notching the eventual game-winner in the 5th minute of the match. The life science major from Makarska, Croatia tallied his second of the game 13 minutes later.
 
"The player that stood out the most today was Antonio," said Varsity Blues co-captain Devon Bowyer. "He played the full 90 minutes and scored two great goals. On one of his goals he flicked the ball over one of the defenders head, controlled it and took a great shot at the bottom corner of the net."
 
2015 CIS all-Canadian Lukas MacNaughton tallied Toronto's third goal of the match in the 23rd minute, while sophomore defender Koosha Nazemi put the Blues up by four in the 31st.
 
Bowyer rounded out the scoring, finding the back of the net in the 46th minute.
 
"Overall this was a great first game of the season, and sends a message to the rest of the teams in the league," added Bowyer. "We need to keep the momentum going and carry it on for the rest of the season."

Third-year goalkeeper Mark Rogal made five saves in the clean sheet victory. 
 
The Varsity Blues return to action this Sunday, August 28 when they host the Laurentian Voyageurs in their 2016 home opener at Varsity Stadium. Game time is set for 2:15 p.m.

Source: Toronto Varsity Blues

Lee nets winner for Rams in 1-0 victory over Laurentian

SUDBURY, Ont. - In his last first game as a Ram, Luka Lee (Toronto) scored the game-winning goal in the season opener to lift Ryerson to a 1-0 victory over Laurentian on Friday afternoon.

The fifth year forward was able to knock in a rebound in the 22nd minute and the tally held up as the only goal of the game.

Ryerson outshot the Voyageurs 10-2 in shots on goal and carried much of the play, firing 18 shots in total.

Third year keeper Praveen Ahilan (Unionville, Ont.) stopped both shots he faced for his first cleansheet of the season.

Newcomers Julian Santia (Vaughan, Ont.) and Robert Boskovic (Mississauga, Ont.) made their debuts in the Rams starting 11.

Ryerson will return home to Toronto and prepare to host the Nipissing Lakers in their home opener on Sunday, August 28 at 2:15 p.m. at Monarch Park Stadium.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Excalibur no match for instinctive Ravens

PETERBOROUGH, ON – The Carleton Ravens men's soccer team got off to a flying start in the opening game of the 2016 season on Friday night at Trent, completing a dominating 3-0 victory over the Excalibur.

Following a winless preseason that saw the team struggle to keep goals out of the net, sophomore goalkeeper David Monk (Oakville, ON) led the way with a fine performance to earn the shutout and the victory between the posts.

Carleton took less than twenty minutes to get on the board, as third-year transfer Ariel Lugoma (Ottawa, ON) put the Ravens up 1-0 in the 18th minute by slotting home a rebound in the six-yard box following a shot from striker Andrew Bryan (Montreal, QC).

The Ravens nearly took a 2-0 advantage thanks to a fine twenty-yard effort by midfielder Malik Haji (Brampton, ON), but his strike nailed the crossbar and stayed out.

The Ravens would hold a one-goal lead after forty-five minutes of play.

Trent, which had few opportunities in the first, came bearing down on the Ravens goal to begin the second half, but Carleton would deny the Excalibur of an equalizer.

Monk made an incredible save on an unexpected shot from forty yards away, backpedaling his way to protect the goal before making a desperate block to parry the ball over the net.

Second-yard midfielder Dante Cobisa (Ottawa, ON) made it 2-0 in the 67th minute when he headed the ball past the Trent goalkeeper after connecting perfectly with a Julian Piccioli (Ottawa, ON) inswinging free kick from just outside the 18-yard box.

With fifteen minutes to play in regulation, first-year head coach Kwesi Loney looked to his bench for support, bringing in first-year player Gordon Goodkey (Ottawa, ON) to help close out the game.

The move proved to pay instant dividends as Goodkey received the ball and maneuvered down the wing before rifling a hard cross through the Trent box where forward Mekonen Lovemore (Ottawa, ON) calmly directed the ball past the Trent keeper for the Ravens' third score.

Malik Haji had a stellar box-to-box performance, providing on both ends of the pitch and helping the Ravens preserve the shutout with strong tackles and great positional play.

Source: Carleton Ravens