As week four finishes up we open up a new chapter called week five. Before we can talk about week five, the rankings change from the games of the fourth week of soccer need to be discussed.
This week there were not too many changes in the U Sports Men’s Soccer National Rankings. The top four remained the same with the Montreal Carabins still on top and the Carleton University Ravens closing out the first four. Last week the Ryerson University Rams sat in the fifth position but after a disappointing week, they dropped to the sixth position. Having lost 1-0 to the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, the Rams came back to Toronto to face their city rivals, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues at Varsity Stadium. The day was hot as the temperature hit 30 degrees and it showed as the players played. The matchup between the two rivals ended with a 0-0 draw only because of a spectacular save from the fourth year star goalie, Ali Ghazanfari. With the Rams not being able to rely on the team’s top goalscorer, Muaz Saleh due of injury, the offence showed clear signs of struggle in getting shots on net, even though they had double the amount of the Varsity Blues.
As the Rams fell, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds soared to the empty fifth spot. The Thunderbirds had two games in back-to-back days in Edmonton, Alberta, the first match was against the MacEwan University Griffins. The Griffins opened up the scoring even though UBC pelted them with ten shots on net to Macewan’s meer two. The next game for the Thunderbirds was much better as they dominated the University of Alberta Golden Bears. The Golden Bears ate an early goal but responded quickly with their only shot on net. From then on, the game only went UBC’s way as they scored four unanswered goals with nine more shots on net.
The last change that occurred in the national rankings happened at the very bottom of the table. Just like from weeks two to three, Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack fell out of the Top 10. Thompson Rivers played twice on the weekend, their first game was a 2-1 loss to the Mount Royal University Cougars. The second game, against the Lethbridge University Longhorns, went the Wolfpacks way as they scored right off the bat with just two minutes on the clock. The Longhorns were able to respond at the end of the half, but former player of the week, James Fraser, was able to put the Wolfpack ahead. Taking TRU’s former spot is the previously mentioned Mount Royal cougars. With two wins this week and a 7-2 record, the Cougars easily made it in the Top 10. After defeating Thompson Rivers, the Cougars set their eyes on new prey, the Trinity Western University Spartans. The Cougars trampled by the Spartans easily by a score of 5-0.
With this week of U Sports soccer coming to a close, all we can do is wait and see to find out what happens next. Will the top four change, will we have new blood in the rankings? Stay tuned to find out what will happen next.