The Ravens men’s soccer team faced off against the Nipissing Lakers on Sept. 13 and against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Sept. 14.
The Raven’s took the victory at Nipissing with a score of 1-0, but tied at Laurentian with a score of 1-1.
The team played well against Nipissing, ending the day with a win thanks to a goal off a penalty kick from Ravens striker Marco Pozzi.
“[Nipissing] got a penalty in the 45th minute of the first half and Marco Pozzi scored,” said head Ravens head coach Sandy Mackie.
Mackie said the game at Nipissing was “probably the best we played since the start of the season.”
He added the weather was not good on the day of the first match, but the team “performed quite well” despite cold and rainy conditions.
“We’re doing okay . . . it was a good performance,” he said.
Defensively, Mackie said Michael Reynolds and Michael Calof were among the most important players of the match.
There were no red cards handed out during the game, although seven yellow cards were issued to Carleton players through the match.
The next match at Laurentian did not look good for the Ravens after the first half passed by with no goals scored, and when Omar Allison added a strike for the Voyageurs in the 48th minute.
Ravens striker Zef Kraja was able to save his team from a loss, adding the equalizer in the 82nd minute, which resulted in another draw for Carleton.
Despite the comeback, the Ravens were not capitalizing on chances in front of the net according to Mackie for much of the first half and the entire match.
“In the first half we should have been up three or four to nothing, but we were just squandering chances,” he said. “We’re just not converting the chances that we’re creating, and we need to sort that out.”
Mackie is confident the team will continue to improve for upcoming games against Nipissing and Laurentian again this weekend, this time at home.
“Teams have to work all the time on improving,” he said.
