The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team fell 2-0 to the Queen’s University Gaels in a closely contested game Sept. 7 at Carleton’s Keith Harris Stadium.

The match had barely started when the Gaels broke down the right flank and floated in a cross that caught the Ravens defenders standing and was calmly headed in.

The Ravens, seemingly stunned by the goal, resorted to long passes up field to their forwards and wingers.

“When you come for the first time you want to calm the nerves,” Ravens assistant coach Kwesi Loney said after the game. “Unfortunately, when you play two big games away in Toronto you come here and expect things to be easy and they aren’t and it’s hard to dig yourself out of a hole early in the game.”

The Ravens wingers struggled to beat their defensive counterparts in the first 10 minutes of the match.

Ravens captain Peter Manginas and Caki Simrooglu exchanged clever passes on the right wing, only to see the final ball cleared away by a no-nonsense Gaels defence.

Carleton was handed several opportunities from corner kicks midway through the half, but their efforts were consistently cleared away.

The Ravens finished the half on the front foot, with Gaels defenders forced into blocking shots.

The Ravens started the second half as the dominant force, but a shot by Josh Dewar-Morris was denied by a last ditch tackle.

Simrooglu then saw his follow-up shot sail just wide as the Ravens pressed.

However, the Ravens were undone as goalkeeper Josh Faulkner was sent off after bringing down a Gaels forward on a breakaway. Peter Chistidis scored on the resulting penalty to give the Gaels a two-goal lead.

“I thought it was harsh to send off the keeper, [but] I thought it was the correct call,” Loney said.

A man down and two goals behind, the Ravens still pressed up field with Joey Kewin all over the park for the Ravens.

Kewin showed why he was asked to join the Ottawa Fury this summer, as in the 72nd minute he started at the Gaels corner flag and beat two men, dribbling his way into the middle of the 18 yard box, only to see his shot blocked.

“We stepped it up in the second half, which is a positive to take away from a game like this and just build on this.” Loney said.

The Ravens visit the Royal Military College Paladins Sept. 11.