CIS men's soccer Wednesday roundup: Rams down Excalibur, unbeaten in six

Photo credit Stephen Kassim, Ryerson

Laurier 2, Brock 2 Final 

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's soccer team (3-5-1 OUA) battled to a 2-2 tie against the Laurier Golden Hawks (2-4-3) on Wednesday at Brock.
 
Junior defenceman Bobby Turnbull (Brantford, Ont.) gave Brock the lead 39 minutes into the game when he made a nice run through the midfield and curled a ball inside the left post from 12 yards out.
 
Laurier evened the score at 1-1 in the 62nd minute when freshman Robert Kardaras (Markham, Ont.) headed a ball into the net that Brock senior goalkeeper Ryan Toale (Brampton, Ont.) got both hands on but could not squeeze.
 
In the 78th minute, Brock was awarded a penalty kick when senior Andres Nimtsiv (Courtice, Ont.) was pulled down in the box by Laurier junior keeper Brett Harrington (Tillsonburg, Ont.).
 
Freshman striker Sammy Orlando (Woodbridge, Ont.) took the penalty kick and struck the ball perfectly inside the left-bottom corner of the net to give the Badgers the 2-1 lead.
 
The Hawks tied the game in the 89th minute when Kardaras scored his second of the game by getting a rebound past Toale.
 
With the point from the tie, Brock still sits sixth in the OUA West and holds the final playoff spot.
 
The Badgers will now hit the road to play the Western Mustangs on Saturday, October 1 and Windsor Lancers on Sunday, October 2.
 
GAME SUMMARY
 
1st Half
 
39:00 – BRO – Turnbull
 
2nd Half
 
62:00 – WLU – Kardaras
 
78:00 – BRO – Orlando (PK)
 
89:00 – WLU – Kardaras
 
Goalies: BRO – Toale (4 saves, T), LAU – Harrington (0 saves, T)
 
Yellow Cards: BRO – Pavela (2), Nimtsiv, Paterson; WLU - Harrington
 
Source: Brock Sports Info

Ryerson 2, Trent 0 Final

TORONTO - Hometown native Viktor Anastasov tallied his conference-leading eighth goal of the season, and Adrian Mancini provided an explosive insurance marker as the Ryerson Rams men's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to six games with a 2-0 shutout victory over the Trent Excalibur on Wednesday evening at Esther Shiner Stadium.

A few days after sparking his team's comeback with two goals against the Queen's Gaels, Anastasov was at it again on Wednesday night, using his lightning speed and finishing ability to get things started for the Rams (4-1-2). 

"He's doing all the right things," said Associate Coach Filip Prostran.  "His hard work in the off-season is really paying off."

The second-year provided the first chance of the game after dashing past a Trent defender and getting a shot away but right into the hands of the Excalibur keeper Josip Bosnjak.  The Rams were all over the visitors early on, as their small-ball passing and crosses from the flanks caused fits for Trent.  However, although they got continual good looks at goal, the men had trouble finding the target through the first half-hour of the match. 

Finally, a corner kick taken by Mancini found Jamie Baker, who cleverly headed the ball across the goal mouth to Anastasov for the pretty finish to put the Rams up 1-0 in the 31st minute.  Anastasov is now alone at the top of the OUA scoring leader board. 

It didn't take long for Mancini to provide the buffer, and he did so in style.  After another good work-up through the midfield, Anastasov slipped a horizontal pass to Mancini well outside the 30-yard mark.  However, the Richmond Hill, Ont. native seemed to spot an opportunity from distance and took full advantage, sending an absolute howitzer that rocketed off the bottom of the cross bar and into the back of the net.  Bosnjak, who had no chance on the play, stood frozen in place as did his fellow teammates, stunned by the marker. 

"I think I saw him close his eyes," Prostran joked.  "No, he's gifted with both feet and has a great shot.  We tell him to hit the net more often and release the trigger.  He did and it was a great shot, absolutely."  

The teams went into the locker room with Ryerson up a pair, and neither team could find the net in the second half, allowing the Rams to walk away with three points.

Goalkeeper Christian Maraldo had his shutout bid tested at multiple points in the second half of play, but the Mississauga native was aggressive and consistently denied the Excalibur any opportunities on through-balls entering his box, using both his catch and punching ability to clear the danger. 

His great diving save in the final minutes of the game put a stamp on the clean sheet as well as the victory, which puts Ryerson into second-place in the OUA East for the time being.  The Toronto Varsity Blues sit just one point back of the Rams and have a game in-hand going into the weekend's matches.

The men will travel up north for games against the Nipissing Lakers and Laurentian Voyageurs, both of which they defeated in their first meeting earlier this year. 

The Rams will take on Nipissing first on Saturday, before hitting the pitch in Sudbury, Ont. against the Voyageurs on Sunday. Both matches begin at 2:15 p.m.

Source: Ryerson Sports Info