The men’s soccer team recorded a pair of wins against the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks (UOIT), and the Trent Excalibur in their final two games of the regular season.
Against UOIT on Oct. 14 the game started out slow as the Ridgebacks defence kept the Ravens offence at bay for the entire first half of the game.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Ravens forward Gabriel Bitar buried the ball in the back of the net on a free kick from the 25-yard line to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead. The game became a lopsided affair as Carleton’s offence peppered the UOIT goaltender, but Bitar’s goal would stand as the lone one for the match. The Ravens were able to get off 16 total shots compared to the Ridgebacks’ four.
With the win against UOIT, the Ravens clinched the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Division title for the first time since 2011.
In the game against Trent on Oct. 15, the Ravens offence exploded as they scored eight goals and were able to hold Trent’s defence to just one goal.
Shortly into the first half, Ravens forward Stefan Karajovanovic put Carleton on the board first. Soon after, Bitar was able to net his second goal of the weekend.
Karajovanovic and Bitar would then add one more goal each to lift the Ravens to a 4-0 lead heading into the second half. The two forwards ended the regular season in the top three in the OUA for goals scored with Bitar scoring 16 and Karajovanovic netting 15.
Shortly into the second half, Trent got on the board when Excalibur midfielder Aaron Chia beat Ravens goaltender David Monk. That would be the only goal that Trent would record, as the Ravens defence kept Trent at bay for the rest of the game, and the Ravens offence continued to dominate.
In response to Trent’s goal, Ravens forward Jimi Aribido buried the ball into the back of the net, destroying any momentum the Excalibur may have had. A few minutes later, Ravens midfielder David Aguib added to the score as he lifted the Ravens to a lead of 6-1.
Ravens midfielder Dante Cobisa added another goal to the scoresheet. Carleton defender Dondrae Fells would score his first of the season and last of the game to bring the final score to 8-1 for the Ravens.
“I was satisfied with the overall weekend; whenever you can walk away with the maximum points over two games it’s a positive,” head coach Kwesi Loney said. “We still need to develop, clean up some aspects of our play but I will take away the positives from the weekend which was the results.”
The Ravens team has had an impressive season this year leading the OUA in goals scored with 51 and goals against with nine. The Ravens finished the season with an eight-game winning streak and were able to take home the title of top in the OUA East.
“Clinching the east is definitely an accomplishment but everyone on the team understands that the job is not done. We are capable of going far in the playoffs and we need to keep the right mindset for the upcoming weeks,” Ravens midfielder Scott Mazzotta said.
The Ravens will play their next games at home on Oct. 28 and 29 as they go up against the lowest ranked team in the East Division to make the playoffs.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
