Following a difficult previous week where the Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team tied two top Ontario University Athletics (OUA) teams, the Ravens were able to get back on track, securing two important wins.
The first game against the Queen’s Gaels proved to be a challenge for the high-flying Raven’s offence with the Gaels holding them at bay.
This changed in late in the first half of the match when Ravens midfielder Emad Houache was able to break free and set up Dante Cobise to blast one into the back of the net.
After this a pair of goals by Gabriel Bitar in the 64th minute and Stefan Karajovanovic in the 66th minute put the Ravens up 3-0.
Queen’s was able to stand strong, not allowing for the Raven’s offence to score anymore but the Gaels were unable to get past the Carleton defence. The final score of the game was 3-0, giving the Ravens their third win of the season.
The following day the Ravens faced off against the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins.
Unlike the Queen’s game, the Ravens were able to get on the board quick with two goals in the sixth and ninth minute by Karajovanovic. The Carleton rookie now leads the OUA in goals with seven.
RMC was able to respond and put one past Carleton goaltender David Monk in the 28th minute but were then shut out for the rest of the game.
On a free kick, Bitar was able to put one past RMC goalie Jonathan Ardell which sparked a fury of Ravens offence. Jimi Aribido scored three goals in the second half, netting himself a hat trick, the second hattrick by a Raven this season.
Aribido joined his teammate Karajovanovic on the list of Ravens players who have netted hat tricks so far this season.
In the last minute of play, 16-year-old rookie Idir Zerrouk became the youngest player in OUA soccer history to score a regular season goal, putting the Ravens up 7-1.
The Ravens offence remains top in the OUA with 27 goals, beating second place Ryerson by five.
These back-to-back wins kept the Ravens undefeated with a record of 4-0-2, good enough for third in OUA East division.
The Ravens will be facing tough competition in their next games against the Ryerson Rams and the University of Toronto on Sept. 16 and 17, who are both above the Ravens in the standings. Ryerson, Toronto, and Carleton remain the only three undefeated teams in their division.
Earlier this season, the Ravens managed to secure ties against both teams, and will look to keep their undefeated streak alive as they face both Toronto teams on the road.
