The Ravens men’s soccer team returned to Thunderbird Stadium on Nov. 9 to play their semi-final game of the U Sports National Championships against the Cape Breton University Capers but fell 5-2 to the defending champions.
The Ravens were playing for a chance to put themselves in gold medal contention after beating host University of British Columbia’s Thunderbirds 2-3 in the quarter-finals on Nov. 8.
With an unchanged line-up and wearing their signature red kit, the Ravens approached the match with aggression right from the first whistle.
Once Carleton settled into their groove, they had two good chances to open up the scoring but attempts from forward Stefan Karajovanovic and defender Christopher Malekos did not hit the mark.
The Capers responded quickly, pressing high and moving with pace which resulted in the game’s first goal only 15 minutes in.
Carleton was able to rally back to find an attacking opportunity after Karajovanovic put in a cross towards the box which met the head of a floating Ricky Comba who poked it into the back of the net.
After 30 minutes, the game was tied 1-1.
The Capers turned up the pressure and capitalized minutes later to put the Ravens down 2-1.
A defensive error from the Ravens had both teams scrambling in the box, and an unfortunate deflection from Captain Tristan St. Pierre resulted in an own goal.
Throughout the remainder of the half, the Ravens could not find another equalizer and the scoreline remained 2-1 in favour of the Capers heading into the last 45 minutes.
Despite the scoreline, Ravens head coach Kwesi Loney applauded the team’s persistence to battle back against the reigning champions in the first half.
“We came out really well, possessed the ball, went down and battled back but, you know, it was a tough game,” Loney said.
After the break, the Ravens routinely attacked the Cape Breton goal to try and tie the game but the Capers remained dominant on the pitch.
The Nova Scotian team continued to play technically against the Ravens and refused to lighten up on their attack.
In the 55th minute, the Capers scored another goal to extend their lead 3-1.
Carleton continued to fight and maintain possession of the ball when the opportunities arose but misplaced passes. Solid defending from the Capers stopped their attempts.
Karajovanovic and midfielder Dante Cobisa both had additional attempts on goal to bring one back for the Ravens, but Capers goalie Ben Jackson saved the shots to keep the team’s two-goal lead.
During the last 15 minutes of the game, the Capers added their fourth and fifth goals of the match in the 75th and 90th minute respectively.
Captain St. Pierre was able to score a consolation goal for the Ravens in stoppage time but the goal was too late to make any drastic changes to the game.
After the loss, Coach Loney expressed his admiration for the team’s effort against a good opposition who “played really well and took their chances.”
Looking ahead to the Ravens’ last game of the tournament, he added that a day of rest will help the team prepare to fight for some hardware.
“It should do us some good. We will look to approach it right and [try to] end this tournament off on a good note,” he said.
The Ravens will play in the bronze medal match on Nov. 11 against the Trinity Western Spartans at 6:30 p.m. PST/9:30 p.m. EST.
Photo by Elizabeth Wang/The Ubyssey
