The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team recorded a pair of wins at home against the Laurentian Voyageurs and the Nipissing Lakers with alumni of the team in attendance.
The Ravens beat the Voyageurs 6-0 on Sept. 23, and then came back from behind and beat the Lakers 2-1 the following day giving the Ravens a record of 7-1-2.
Against Laurentian, the game got off to a slow start with both teams stifling any offensive effort from the opposing side. No goals were scored in the first half of the game, an unusual feeling for the Ravens who lead Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in goals scored with 36.
Four minutes into the second half, Ravens forward Stefan Karajovanovic took a pass from Ricky Comba and directed the ball into the back of the net past Voyageurs goalkeeper Connor VandeWeghe, sparking the lethal Ravens offence. Ravens midfielder Dante Cobisa then fired a ball past VandeWeghe, putting the Ravens up 2-0.
Ten minutes later, Karajovanovic came running to the net and drove the ball into the back of the net in the left-hand corner with his second goal of the game. Cobisa followed that up with his second goal of the game to bring the Ravens to a 4-0 lead.
In the 75th minute of the game Karajovanovic scored his third goal in the match and recorded his second hat trick of the season.
Ten minutes later, Ravens forward Alexander Kulic scored his first goal of the game to bring the game to an end with a 6-0 shutout win over Laurentian.
On Sept. 24, the Carleton defence kept the Lakers at bay for the first half but in the second half, Lakers midfielder William Tsilkas opened the scoring when he fired the ball into the back of the net past Ravens goalkeeper David Monk who was starting in his season debut.
The Lakers would hold Carleton’s strong offence off for almost the entire second half, until late in the game when Karajovanovic took a pass from Walker Smith and tied the game up. Only 45 seconds later, Karajovanovic directed the ball into the lower corner of the net off his head to complete the comeback and give the Ravens a 2-1 win.
First-year striker Karajovanovic had an outstanding weekend, netting himself five goals in two games. The strong performance has put him into first place in the OUA for goals with a total of 12.
The two wins this weekend have moved Carleton into first place in the OUA East Division, putting them two points up over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who have played one less game than the Ravens.
The wins also have landed the Ravens on the Top 10 national rankings coming in in the 8th spot on the list for the first time this season.
The Ravens play their next games on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 as they travel north for an away game match-up against the Lakers and the Voyageurs, in the hope of keeping their winning streak alive.
Photo by Meagan Casalino
