After a long, tiring season, the Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team made it to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships and claimed a sixth-place ranking in the country.
After a heart-breaking penalty shootout loss to the eventual finalists, the University of Cape Breton Capers, and a resounding 2-1 win over the University of Alberta Golden Bears, the Ravens fell to their rivals, the McMaster Marauders, in the fifth-place game.
However, the road to sixth place in the country wasn’t an easy one.
With nine rookies on the roster, as well as the veteran experience coming from midfielder Sam McHugh and keeper Mark Krocko, the Ravens finished second in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division.
“We’ve had a few guys come in and play well,” Ravens assistant coach Kwesi Loney said. “You look at these young guys coming in, like [Michael] Calof who’s going into his third year. The future looks bright.”
The Ravens scored the second highest amount of goals in the OUA, led by star striker Andrew Latty, who scored nearly half of the team’s goals. Latty was later announced as the OUA MVP in addition to being named a first-team All-Canadian in honour of his outstanding season.
To earn its first berth at CIS nationals since 2005, Carleton out-muscled the undefeated York University Lions before losing 5-0 to the Marauders in the final.
Carleton showed themselves as a team willing to get stuck in tackles, but was also able to spread the ball out wide and break with terrifying speed against opposing back lines.
In their opening game at nationals, the Ravens went the distance with their Maritime counterparts. Facing an opponent with a large number of experienced players, the Ottawa team refused to be brushed aside.
With injuries mounting throughout the game, the Ravens were forced to re-juggle their defence. Christophe Laberge-Perrault, the Ravens’ starting centre-back, was injured. Highlighting his commitment to the team, he continued until a substitute could take his place.
In the end, it had to go to penalties to decide the game.
Krocko pulled off some magnificent saves to keep the hope alive for the Ravens, but it wasn’t to be. Ryan Beckford saw his chip attempt saved by the Capers’ keeper with gut-wrenching ease.
From there, the Ravens had 24 hours before kicking off against the number two team in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The match couldn’t have been worse for the Ravens.
Alberta kicked off and promptly lumped the ball downfield for an onrushing forward to bury past the helpless Krocko.
Attacking with pace and vigour that was lacking in the first game, Carleton looked likely to pull at least a goal back.
It took until the second half, but the Ravens had the breakthrough they needed when senior midfielder Joey Kewin and Latty combined to grab the tying goal. The rebound from Kewin’s shot fell right into the path of the onrushing Latty.
Two minutes after tying the game, Kewin went from provider to goal-scorer, grabbing his own goal after breaking down the left wing and holding off his marker.
“We showed a lot of character to come back,” McHugh said.
From there, it was off to the fifth-place consolation round for a game that several players called a grudge match.
Free kicks and yellow cards were thrown around like they were going out of fashion, as both teams took some opportunities to kick lumps out of each other.
But with the fouls called, it slowed down the flow of the game. Both teams struggled to get the ball to their wings, with the majority of the first half playing out in the centre of the park.
Kewin couldn’t find his rhythm on the wings, with McMaster’s right-back taking every opportunity he could to try to wear him down with physical contact.
Unfortunately, defender Michael Calof coughed up the ball while trying to clear, and Marauders forward Karl Bicumampaka pounced to finish it past the onrushing Krocko.
Krocko, with his career as a Raven now over, hopes that the younger players appreciate the gift that is competing at nationals.
“It’s phenomenal experience for them.They don’t understand how hard it is to get here, I’ve been trying my whole career,” Krocko said.
With such a successful season behind them, the Ravens can build on this experience for next year and pick up right where they left off.
“At the end of the day we got to nationals which was exceeding our expectations,” Latty said. “It shows that we should be here every year.”
