The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team started their playoff quest in a wet, windy, and wild affair against the Ryerson Rams Oct. 28 at Ravens Field.
This was a highly anticipated match, as the winner would have a spot in the OUA Final Four next weekend, Nov. 3-4. A win there would grant the victor a spot in the CIS Championships at Laval University.
Carleton got out to a lead in the 28th minute, but Ryerson tied it quickly and the first half ended with the score tied 1-1. Things became much more interesting in the second half.
In the 60th minute, Ravens striker Andrew Latty scored an incredible highlight-reel goal, maneuvering past two Ryerson defenders to put the ball past the goalkeeper. This lead for the Ravens didn’t last long, however, as the Rams capitalized twice in a span of five minutes to take the lead 3-2 with only 13 minutes remaining.
The Ravens were not going to lose their season that easily. In the 79th minute, the referees called Ryerson on a handball in their box, resulting in a penalty kick for the Ravens.
Fourth-year midfielder Joey Kewin took the penalty kick and the Rams goalkeeper saved his shot. But, the Ryerson keeper lost control of the ball when he made the save, and Kewin rushed in, collected the rebound on his own shot, and struck the ball into the net to tie up the game again.
“I was about to cry to be honest, but I got the follow-up,” Kewin said. “I saw him bobble it and I put it in the corner.”
The score was still tied as regulation time expired and the Ravens came out flying in overtime.
In the 99th minute, rookie Aleksandar Cosovic scored for the Ravens. The men scored two more goals to seal the win by a final score of 6-3, booking their ticket to the Final Four.
“The game plan was to play our system and have a consistent 90 minutes,” Ravens assistant coach Kwesi Loney said.
“Throughout the regular season we struggled with getting players to play a full 90 minutes, we worked on a lot of focused techniques over the week, and I thought today we were able to execute.”
The Carleton Ravens will travel to York University Nov. 3 to compete in the OUA Final Four and a chance to compete in the CIS Championships.
In their must-win semi-final match, the Ravens will play the host and number one ranked team in the nation, the York University Lions. A win will earn them a spot in the CIS Championships at Laval, Nov. 8-11.
“We want to improve from this result,” Loney said.
“Hopefully there is no letdown. We worked so hard in the game today and now we’ve got to do it all over again next weekend. Hopefully the players are up for it, get some rest this week, focus on the mistakes that were made today, and push forward.”
