The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team traded their cleats for skates and sticks as they hit the ice March 22 to take on the women’s hockey team in a friendly game of hockey.
And much to everyone’s surprise—and probably even their own—it was the men who came out victorious.
The final score was 6-5, with second-year defenceman Michael Calof stealing the show, scoring all six goals for his team.
“It was a blast,” Calof said after the game. “But I think they were going easy on us a little bit.”
The men’s prowess on the ice earned them plaudits from the women’s team.
“I was really surprised,” Ravens goaltender Eri Kiribuchi said. “I was like ‘Whoa, are they really soccer players?’”
“I think we were [going easy on them] in the beginning, but in the end I was like ‘No I can’t take it easy on them anymore!’” she said.
The men were left playing catch up the whole game after forwards Victoria Gouge and Ainslee Kent got the lady Ravens ahead with a pair of early goals.
At one point, the women led 4-1, but along with this year’s Ontario University Athletics MVP winner Andrew Latty for support, Calof kept the soccer boys in it by finding the back of the net a whopping half-dozen times.
He scored his sixth goal, the game-winner, with just a minute and a half left in the game, roofing a snap-shot into the top corner of the goal to send his teammates on the bench into a frenzy.
But it was Calof’s fourth goal that was the pick of the lot.
After scooping up the ball—er, puck—at centre ice, he expertly stickhandled his way through the zone to get himself one-on-one with Kiribuchi. A sleek Patrick Kane-esque deke later, and the puck was nestled in the back of the net.
“Looks like he should have chosen hockey as his sport career choice,” joked Shelley Coolidge, the women’s head coach.
With a performance as impressive as this, will Calof be trying out for the men’s hockey team next year?
“I don’t think so,” he said with a laugh. “I think playing one sport is enough!”
Coolidge said the game was a good opportunity for coaching staff and players from both teams to interact and have some fun.
“It was great to see our varsity soccer and hockey players take the initiative to plan the game,” Coolidge said.
“The better that they get to know each other off-ice, the more likely they are to take the time to support each other in season, when their schedules permit.”
For the women’s hockey team, it’s back to business next week, as they host Germany’s national women’s team.
The exhibition game on March 31 will be something of a homecoming for Germany’s Sara Seiler, who captained Carleton during her three years in Ottawa.
“We are looking forward to competing against Team Germany,” Coolidge said. “Our team has continued to work on our defensive, individual, and team play as our first priority.”
The puck drops at 3 p.m. at the Ice House.
