It was a beautiful weekend for soccer at MNP Park as the Ravens men’s soccer team won both their games with a goal scoring aggregate of 12-0.
After losing their first game of the season last week against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, the team was eager to bounce back into form.
On Oct. 13 and 14, the Ravens hosted the Trent University Excalibur and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (OUIT) Ridgebacks and managed to claim six points while closing in on the end of regular season.
On Saturday afternoon, the Ravens put on a show by beating the Excalibur 9-0, led by a first-half hat-trick from forward Stefan Karajovanovic.
In the first half, the Ravens completely dominated the pitch, having 31 shots compared to Trent’s one and was up 6-0 after the first 45 minutes.
The Ravens ended up with a comfortable lead heading into the second half, thanks to a solo goal came from Ravens midfielder Ricky Comba, a brace from forward Jimi Aribido and three goals from Karajovanovic.
After the break, goals from midfielders Kelly Lowry, Scott Mazzotta and forward Gabriel Bitar added more damage against the Excalibur, as the Ravens ended the match with a score of 9-0.
On Sunday, the team won 3-0 against a tough Ridgebacks squad who, at first, frustrated the Ravens.
In the first half, a goal in the third minute from Bitar had the Ravens leading 1-0 but the Ridgebacks proved to be a tough opponent to break down.
Through the remainder of the first 45 minutes, the team showed signs of frustration as they tried to get another goal on the scoresheet.
Carleton’s forwards continued to try and threaten the UOIT defence but were dealt more frustration after two shots hit the crossbar of the net, leaving the game 1-0 at halftime.
Ravens head coach Kwesi Loney said the team was playing well despite being up only by one goal.
“We were moving the ball quite well and creating lots of chances, so we got a little frustrated because we felt that we should have been up more than just the one goal,” Loney said. “Any team that is competitive and expects better things of themselves is going to hold themselves to a higher standard.”
Going into the second half, the team was able to click back together, playing with better passing skills and more possession than they did during the first 45 minutes.
Eventually, Karajovanovic was able to double the team’s lead in the 51st minute and Bitar was able to add his second of the match in the 61st, bringing the final score to 3-0.
After this weekend’s matches, the Ravens have their final regular season games on Oct. 20 and 21 when Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada visit Ottawa.
At the moment, the Ravens are 12-1-1 this season and are tied with Ryerson for first place in the OUA East standings.
The results of the last two regular season games will determine where the Ravens will be seeded for the playoffs. However, Loney said the team aims to take on one game at a time.
“We are striving right now to finish first in the OUA East and in order for that to happen we have to win the next two games . . . but we will look at the playoffs after next week,” Loney said.
Photo by Tim Austen
