AROUND OUA: Lions clinch 10th straight OUA West title with win over Badgers
The York University Lions men's soccer team won its 10th straight OUA West Division title on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 16) with a 2-0 victory over the Brock Badgers at Alumni Field.
SCOREBOARD
Brock 0 @ York 2
McMaster 7 @ Algoma 1
UOIT 3 @ RMC 3
Laurier 2 @ Western 1
Carleton 1 @ Nipissing 1
Toronto 4 @ Laurentian 0
Trent 2 @ Queen's 1
Waterloo 4 @ Windsor 1
Lions clinch 10th straight OUA West title with win over Badgers
The York University Lions men's soccer team won its 10th straight OUA West Division title on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 16) with a 2-0 victory over the Brock Badgers at Alumni Field.
With the victory the Lions keep their undefeated streak alive and move forward with a record of 12-0-2. The stunning record translates to 38 points and the first place position in the OUA West standings. They have a six-point lead over Guelph with two games remaining and hold the tiebreaker over their division rivals.
The first half opened up with very aggressive play by the Lions as they attacked the opposition's net with a suffocating crew of forwards trying to break down the Brock defence.
The first goal of the match came from the foot of ?Maurizio Ragone? ?(North York, Ont.) in the 20th minute when he dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and fired a laser straight past unaware Brock goalkeeper Matt Zaikos. A physical York squad squandered any hopes of a goal from the Badgers as the half was closed out with a score of 1-0.
The second half would be very similar to the first with a ton of physical play from the Lions. They truly enforced their will on the pitch as the Badgers could not seem to win any contested balls when the Lions would forcefully dribble the ball up-field.
The offensive suffocation came to a peak in the 74th minute when Cristian Cavallini (Woodbridge, Ont.) gained control of a high arching ball with the soft touch and control of his head. From there he gained leverage past the last Brock defender and sniped a game-sealing goal from 25 yards out. Zaikos had no chance to stop the ball even with a diving attempt.
The Lions still have two contests remaining before hosting an OUA quarter-final match on Sunday, Oct. 30. Their next game will take place on Saturday (Oct. 22) when the Windsor Lancers make the trip to Toronto in an attempt to end York's undefeated reign. The game will kick off at 3:15pm.
Source: York Lions
Ridgebacks draw fourth straight match
KINGSTON, Ont. – It took a three-goal second half by the UOIT men's soccer team to draw their match 3-3 against the RMC Paladins on Sunday.
The match opened with Stephane Warren scoring off a penalty kick for RMC.
Before halftime the Paladins added goals by Clarke Ariss in the 23rd and Stephane Quinn in the 40th minute to take a 3-0 lead into the break.
In the second half it didn't take long for Fabio Campoli (Frosinone, Italy) to score the first Ridgebacks goal, beating RMC keeper Kevin Snee in the 47th minute.
Campoli added two more goals, both on penalty kicks, in the 55th and 63rd minutes to get the Ridgebacks even with RMC again.
Unfortunately they were unable to add a fourth goal as they earned their fourth straight draw.
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) made nine saves for the Ridgebacks, while Snee made 12 for the Paladins.
Regardless of their result against RMC, their game next Saturday against the Trent Excalibur would've been a do-or-die game.
The Ridgebacks currently trail Trent by one point in the OUA east division for the final playoff spot and will need a win to advance to the postseason. In their first meeting this season on Sept. 24, UOIT earned a 1-0 victory.
Kick-off on Saturday in Peterborough is 3:15 p.m.
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Golden Hawks net three points against Western
LONDON, Ont. (October 16, 2016)- The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's soccer team earned their second win of the weekend on Sunday afternoon by posting a 2-1 victory over the Western Mustangs in London.
Niklas Bauer of Newmarket Ont., was once again a force for the Golden Hawks and made his presence known.
By the seven minute mark, Bauer capitalized on one of the two shots that Laurier recorded in the first half, to give the purple and gold an early 1-nil lead.
Not 20 minutes later, Western evened out the scoreboard to a 1-1 draw, thanks to Rudy James (London, Ont.) sliding the ball past Laurier's first year keeper, Rocco Strazzella (Woodbridge, Ont.).
As the game passed half, both teams persevered in an effort to find the advantage goal.
In the 72nd minute, Bauer was able to make another contribution, and put the Hawks up 2-1. For the fourth year business student, this was his 15th goal of the season, and fourth in two games. Bauer's recent performance moves him into both first place in the conference scoring race and first place in the league for points, with a total of 19 to his name.
This win gives Laurier an 8-5-1 record, and sole possession of third place in the OUA West division with 25 points on the season. The victory is also the most the Hawks have enjoyed in a season since 2001.
Next up for Laurier will be their last home game of the regular season, in which they will play the McMaster Marauders on Thursday, October 20th. The two teams are currently seperated by one point in the West division standings for third place.
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. at University Stadium.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Ravens drop valuable points against Nipissing in 1-1 draw
NORTH BAY, ON — Carleton extended its impressive unbeaten run to ten games on Sunday afternoon with a 1-1 draw against the Nipissing Lakers.
Despite conceding a goal late in regulation and missing out on a full three points to close out its Northern Ontario road trip, Carleton still controls its playoff destiny heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The Ravens got off to an exceptional start against the Lakers, as their pressure in the offensive zone provided them with a corner kick. Defender Julian Piccioli (Ottawa, ON) set up the first goal when his set piece fell to midfielder Walker Smith (Ottawa, ON), who half-volleyed the loose ball past the Nipissing keeper in the 4th minute for a 1-0 lead.
Carleton continued to put the heat on up front, narrowly missing a second goal with a post strike just a few minutes after the opening tally. The Ravens would receive further chances, but two clear-cut breakaways yielded no goals, as a lack of finishing hampered Carleton's ability to blow the game wide open.
Trailing to begin the second half, Nipissing came out with a bit more fire, but Ravens keeper David Monk (Oakville, ON) remained composed in the Carleton goal. The Lakers' long-ball style saw the Ravens defenders going on long sprints against the Nipissing strikers, but the back line remained unfazed.
In the 88th minute, Carleton's players let their guard down for only a brief moment, but it turned out to be a costly mistake. A Nipissing free kick from half was lost in the mad scramble of bodies in front of the 18-yard box, leaving Monk stranded out of the goal. Laker Alexander Nero capitalized on the error to gain his side a valuable point.
With several starters sitting this one out as a precaution, Carleton relied on its deep bench for support. The standout performer of the day was Abdul Akinwande (Ottawa, ON), who made the most of his first start of the season with an energetic ninety minutes of play.
Carleton will head down to Toronto next weekend for a pair of games against the OUA East's top two teams – Ryerson and Toronto. The Ravens sit two points behind the Varsity Blues in the standings, but a win would guarantee Carleton a first-round playoff bye since they have a game in hand over Toronto.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Strong second half lifts Blues over Voyageurs
Team co-captain Lukas MacNaughton scored two goals as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 4-0 on Sunday, October 16 in Sudbury, Ont.
With the win, the Blues improve to 11-2-2 and move into second place in the OUA East division.
MacNaughton opened the scoring scoring off a penalty kick in the 51st minute. The Blues extended their lead eight minutes later as Nikolay Saveliev took advantage of a Laurentian miscue to find the back of the net.
Sophomore striker Jack Wadden put the Blues up 3-0 in the 77th minute and MacNaughton added his second of the game, off another penalty kick, to seal the 4-0 victory.
Blues goalkeeper Mark Rogal made five saves in his ninth clean sheet of the season.
The Blues close out their regular season next Saturday, October 22, hosting the Carleton Ravens at Varsity Stadium. A Toronto win would secure a first round playoff bye. Game time is set for 3:15 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Gaels defeated 2-1 in final home game of regular season
KINGSTON, Ont (October 16, 2016) – The Queen's Gaels (5-4-5) fell 2-1 to the Trent Excalibur (4-8-3) after recognizing their graduating players to start the final home game of the regular season.
GAME FLOW
The Gaels started the game strong with many shots on Trent's keeper, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Queen's midfielders played the first half with good ball control and were able to keep possession of the ball throughout the majority of the opening 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the Gaels conceded a goal to Excalibur's David Ogbole. In the 31st minute, Rory McParland (Halifax, N.S.) acquired the first yellow card of the game followed by a yellow card for Kiefer Thalen of the Excalibur.
Entering the second half, the Gaels stepped up the intensity with another wave of shots sent towards goal. However, the Gaels defensive efforts were not enough to stop the Trent offence, and the Excalibur doubled their lead in the 70th minute on a goal from Aaron Chia. In the 74th minute of the game Rohan Sarna (Mississauga, Ont) acquired the second yellow card for the Gaels. In the final minutes of the game, Jacob Schroeter (Ottawa, Ont) placed a goal in the back of the net with an assist by Tommy Hong (Oakville, Ont). Queen's comeback fell short, despite sustained pressure in the last five minutes of the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
23 – 23 shots for the Gaels
13 – Trent's keeper David Ellis made 13 saves
4 – four yellow cards handed out in the game
FINAL SAY
"We all understand that if we stick to our strategy, then we'll see results." - head coach Christian Hoefler
UP NEXT
The Gaels take on the Nipissing Lakers (1-10-3) in North Bay on Saturday, October 22 at 2:15pm.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Warriors earn four points in weekend action
The men's soccer team picked up four points in weekend games against Western and Windsor to improve their record to 3-9-2 on the season.
On Saturday the Warriors and Mustangs battled their way to a 0-0 draw while on Sunday, Waterloo's offence awoke scoring four games to top the Lancers 4-1.
Jae Jin Lee (Toronto) led the way with two goals, giving him seven on the season which is 12th best in the OUA.
Also scoring for Waterloo was Nicholas Karavanas (Markham) and Nicholas Ribeiro (Bolton) in the 50th and 74th minutes. Thomas Modjesch (Kitchener) picked up the win between the pipes making five saves for his third win of the season.
The Warriors will wrap up their season next weekend at home with a pair of games against Algoma on Warrior Field. Saturday is set for 8:15pm followed by 4:15pm on Sunday.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
