The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team did not end the 2014 season the way they expected, especially after going to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four in its 2013 campaign.
Their first round playoff exit on penalty kicks against the lower-ranked University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks was both a surprise and an admitted disappointment for coach Sandy Mackie’s team.
The Ravens finished fourth in the OUA East during the regular season.
“We knew entering the season what the challenges of having a young team would be, but it’s still unacceptable,” Mackie said, whose side suffered its worst placing since 2003.
Among the losses to the roster were striker Andrew Latty and midfielder Joey Kewin. Latty was the 2013 OUA East player of the year and Kewin was a perennial all-star for the Ravens.
In 2014, Mackie took home the OUA East coach of the year award, while three of his players—Julian Piccioli, Michael Calof, and Daud Dahir—were all named OUA all-stars.
Piccioli, a third-year defender who received the same recognition in 2013, started all 16 regular season matches for Mackie’s team, chipping in with two goals while serving as a vocal leader on the backline.
Calof, a centre back who received the team’s alumni award in 2013 for his consistent effort and leadership, also started all 16 games.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to get knocked out like that–first time for me, as I’ve been to the Final Four every year, but everyone put in the effort and trained hard. It’s unfortunate it went down to penalties, but the effort was there,” Calof said.
Dahir, a third-year starter, received his first all-star nomination after finishing second on the Ravens with six goals, and notching two game-winning strikes for his team.
“Daud was a player that dominated the play, and no defender wanted to play against him–he has unbelievable rhythm with the ball, unbelievable feet, and he has a bright future with Carleton,” Calof said.
Mackie’s side struggled throughout the season against the Ridgebacks, drawing and losing in its two games against the OUA East newcomers during the regular season.
“It’s unacceptable for our coaching staff, losing two games against a newcomer to the division here at Carleton,” Mackie said.
An interesting omission from the OUA all-star nominations was Carleton’s leading scorer, Marco Pozzi. The sophomore striker finished seventh in the entire Canadian Interuniversity Sport in goals with nine, but was left off the all-star roster.
With this season ending earlier than they wanted, Mackie said his team is already looking forward to next year.
“We will be better,” he said. “We’ve got a young squad and rest assured, we will return to our traditional form in 2015.”
