It was a beautiful day for soccer on Nov. 11 in Vancouver as the Ravens men’s soccer team battled for the bronze medal at the U Sports National Championships.
After being given some time to relax just a day before, the Ravens found the energy to bounce back from their 5-2 semi-final loss to the Cape Breton University Capers and beat the Trinity Western University Spartans 3-0.
Captain Tristan St. Pierre said the team wanted to finish their season off strong and on a good note.
“For us, it was the last game of the season so there was kind of a go-out-and-leave-everything-on-the-table feeling in the locker room,” St. Pierre said.
The Ravens did just that.
In the beginning of the match, Carleton was the first to attack the Spartans’ goal at Thunderbird Stadium with forwards Stefan Karajovanovic and Gabriel Bitar having two good early chances but the attempts just falling short of the mark.
The Spartans were playing very tight against the Ravens with intricate passing, but Carleton made the most of an opportunity in the 25th minute and Bitar put the ball in the back of the net.
Both teams continued to battle in the midfield, trying to maintain possession of the ball but the Ravens defence was good enough to keep the scoreline 1-0 at halftime.
After the break, the Spartans came out hard and fast trying to find a tying goal but defender Cristopher Malekos doubled Carleton’s lead in the 65th minute.
From then on out, the Ravens maintained possession and were looking hungry for more goals.
Bitar cemented the team’s victory by adding a third goal only three minutes later.
When the referee blew the final whistle it was sweet victory for the Ravens, who celebrated the achievement of claiming their first medal since 2002.
Head coach Kwesi Loney said it was important for the team to finish their season the same way they started.
“It felt like we deserved to be in this game and that we deserved to come out of this with a medal . . . we wanted to show our progress and take these steps forward,” he said.
After receiving their medals, some players also acknowledged how the talents of Coach Loney played an important part throughout their 2018 season.
“He’s been great for everything. There’s been big change in style the last couple of years . . . but like us, he’s pretty young, and every year, we are getting better and better,” said St. Pierre.
“He pushed us all season and we have to thank it to him,” said Malekos.
As a result of the victory, the Ravens improved on their result from last season when they finished the national championships in sixth place.
Their entire 2018 season finished with an overall record of 18-1-3, scoring 78 goals while conceding only 16 across all competitions.
Loney said the program has taken “leaps and bounds” over the past year and will only get better moving forward.
“The team is exceptional, and we are very young, so we are hoping to keep the guys together and continue to grow our program and compete for the national title,” Loney said.
“It’s just a matter of getting guys stronger and faster and just becoming more together within the Carleton program.”
St. Pierre, who played his last game for Carleton, added how the team will improve come next fall.
“I think it will only go up . . . the players coming up are so skilled and so hard-working, so I can’t see us getting worse. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch for sure,” he said.
“I think this year, we showed that we can compete at this level and [we] knew we deserved to be third place in the country.”
Featured photo provided by Elizabeth Wang of the Ubyssey
Photos by Emily Wilson
