Carleton Ravens of past and present faced off throughout the March 13-15 weekend as the men and women’s soccer teams hosted their annual invitational indoor tournament.
The tournament featured four Carleton alumni teams, as well as 14 other clubs and varsity teams from throughout Ontario.
Current Ravens fared well across the board as the women’s team placed first in their tournament, while the men’s team were eliminated in the semifinals.
“There were quality teams on both the men’s and women’s sides so there was a good level of soccer being played all weekend,” said women’s head coach Raz El Asmar.
El Asmar said the tournament was a great practice opportunity for the women’s team, which has been off-season since November.
“September is getting closer everyday and we’re constantly preparing for the upcoming season,” he said. “It was great for the girls to get back out there and play against high-level teams from all around the province.
El Asmar pointed to the team’s strong chemistry as the reason for their success in the tournament.
“The girls dominated the competition after a slow start on Friday and went on to finish the weekend on a great note,” El Asmar said. “The building of cohesiveness on the field throughout the tournament is a good thing for us to have going forward.”
El Asmar said he hopes that the team’s victory is a sign of things to come in the upcoming season.
“We had a lot of injuries during the last season but this tournament showed how competitive we can be when we’re all healthy,” he said. “All in all, the season is looking very promising.”
Aside from providing a practice opportunity for the varsity teams, the tournament also served as a fundraiser for Carleton’s soccer program.
Andrew Letty, a former Ravens soccer player whose last season was in 2013-14, said it was great playing among fellow Ravens alumni while also supporting the varsity program.
“It was really fun playing at Carleton again after a season off,” said Letty, whose alumni team lost in the finals to Kingston Football Club. “Most of us just came back to support the program but it was great to actually end up with a strong competitive team as well.”
Letty said he learned how important fundraising is to the soccer programs during his time on the team and was more than happy to help out now that he was no longer playing.
“In the end, it’s about raising funds for the varsity teams and I think the tournament is a really fun way of doing that,” Letty said. “I’m also definitely not going to complain about second place either.”
