The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team took only one point of a possible six this weekend with a loss and draw against the York University Lions, leaving Carleton winless in their last three games.
The recent slide has allowed the rival Lions—ranked third in the nation, directly behind Carleton—to take the top spot in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division.
The Ravens’ offensive style fell short against the Lions’ defensive tactics and Carleton came out nearly empty-handed in the clash of OUA giants.
Friday: Marzouk silences Ravens crowd in 2-0 Lions win
The Lions and the Ravens battled through the cold conditions in a game where Carleton dominated possession, but York had all the goals.
It started well for the Ravens, who looked to control the game and fight to get the ball back on the defensive end. But defensive errors and unlucky bounces proved to be costly as the Lions scored off a header from York’s Soji Olatoye in the 23rd minute.
The Lions then produced a rapid build-up play that led to a one-on-one between Ravens keeper Kyle Potter and York striker Omar Marzouk in the 42nd minute. Marzouk did not fail to finish, celebrating the goal by cupping his hands over his ears and taunting the Ravens Perch crowd for their sudden silence.
“They didn’t break us down in any manner,” Ravens head coach Kwesi Loney said. “The two goals that we conceded were just us making errors.”
Ravens forward Matteo de Brienne said Carleton’s inability to break through was due to a lack of execution from the Ravens attacking side, rather than the Lions’ defensive performance.
When asked what went against the team during the game, he said the quality of the balls from himself and some teammates.
“We keep ourselves accountable, but it was unfortunate that we couldn’t get the balls in behind into the areas we wanted them today,” de Brienne said.
Loney said his team did well to create chances in the second half but couldn’t follow through.
“These are the matches you want to be a part of … You’ve got to eliminate your mistakes and take your chances,” Loney said. “Today, they took their chances and we didn’t take ours.”
It did not help the Ravens that star midfielder Dario Conte has been under concussion protocols for a potential head injury suffered in training and has missed the last few matches.
Sunday: Ravens match Lions in 1-1 draw
Carleton managed to increase the intensity on the defensive end and improve their passing on the attack. Still, it was not enough to take three points from a defensive Lions team, which York head coach Carmine Isacco was proud of.
“We did a lot of defending to create opportunities in behind [Carleton’s defence],” Isacco said. “That was the plan—create space in behind them—and that’s what we did.”
He said he was happy to come away with a win and a draw.
“We found our way as a group to get four points on the weekend,” Isacco said. “If you asked me before the weekend started, I would’ve said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take four.’”
For a brief period, the Ravens were facing a potential repeat of Friday’s result, as the Lions opened the game’s scoring column in the 18th minute. York’s Dieu Merci Yuma converted a penalty, giving him his 12th goal of the season, tied for the most in the OUA.
Carleton struck back before halftime with a highlight-reel play from de Brienne. Defender Tareq Hamad dribbled the ball to the halfway line before finding de Brienne with a 40-yard lob that left the entire Lions team helpless.
De Brienne hit the sensational pass from Hamad with a difficult Robin Van Persie-style volley that had even York fans in awe. He topped off the goal with his signature front flip, earning the OUA Play of the Week with some commentators calling it the U Sports goal of the year.
Ravens MSOC rookie @MatteodeBrienne is going to be a problem 🙌
He’s one of the most electrifying players in @USPORTS_Soccer ⚡️@USPORTSca
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) October 25, 2021
“It was a banger and just shows his quality,” Hamad said. “It was part of the tactics … We were trying to expose [York] in certain areas and it was [a type of pass] that I was looking for.”
Loney credited his team’s consistent performance and the intensity brought to both games, with the leaders on the Ravens squad motivating the team on multiple occasions. However, tactically, the Ravens still have things to figure out.
Loney said the team is constantly experimenting with different tactics. The fact they’ve lost the top spot in the OUA East division doesn’t mean the team is slacking off, even though they automatically qualify for U Sports nationals as the host team, Loney said.
“It’s a different kind of season for everybody,” Loney said. “We’re still trying to figure out [some things] … Hopefully we’ll get it done before [nationals].”
With the Ravens falling out of first in the East, they now turn their attention to the fifth place Trent University Excalibur, who they’ll face next weekend to wrap up the regular season.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misquoted Ravens forward Matteo de Brienne. The Charlatan regrets the error. The article was last updated on Oct. 28.
Featured image by Spencer Colby.
