TORONTO, ON – The gap is starting to widen between the middle and top of the pack in both OUA conferences. While that means there will be fewer matches that carry significance, the games that do will be monumental events. With that said, the madness of the conference this season continues.
Let’s dive in.
Match of the Week: Queens Gaels 3-0 TMU Bold
You can never let the TMU Bold get any injection of momentum.
So even when, despite being up 3-0, the Queens Gaels held their breath as Zakaria Abdi stepped up to take a penalty kick. Ian Ferguson had been called for a shove in the back of a Bold attacker in what looked like a bit of a weak call, but that didn’t matter anymore. All that did was Connor Adams making a massive save to keep TMU at bay and Queen’s firmly in front.
Not only did he deny Abdi the penalty, but he also had to get back up and stop a rebound that fell perfectly for Luca Di Marco, just two of his nine sensational saves. In a moment of sheer ecstasy for the Gaels, they felt closer than ever to an emphatic upset, adding to a great weekend that saw them rise to fifth in the OUA East.
Though that ranking doesn’t necessarily do them justice: they are just a point back from TMU and Nipissing. On the day, they looked every bit as good as both the schools in front of them, absorbing the Bold’s pressure into their midfield and poking the ball away constantly. Queen’s is far from the fastest when it comes to starting up plays, but once the ball is dished to Jason Cho or played through for Matthew Ciavarro they can appear destined for a glorious offensive moment.
The Gaels surely had less of the ball on offence, but they made every touch count. First, it was a great finish by Andrea Gortana, next Ciavarro got just a bit lucky as a thunderous shot deflected off the gloves of TMU’s keeper Dante Ferraro and into the goal. And to cap off the trifecta, Pablo Hempelman-Per capitalized on a really great bit of passing by Queens. Though you won’t see many numbers up the pitch for them at any given time, the attacking corps is very talented and gels very well.
It is somewhat of a surprise that three shots found their way into the net because, after watching it play out, the result feels like a bit of an outlier of a match. Very important for the standings, yes, but was it really deserved? TMU’s backline was very impressive in heavy defeat, with Tristan Marshall and Brandon Barone both making a few nice challenges and blocks. It was a case of who was around them not being up to par, as Colin Gander couldn’t find a magical cross like the one from a week prior against Toronto.
Queen’s did well limiting the space of the opposing fullbacks and midfielders, and forcing TMU into constantly resetting the play. This could’ve also given the hosts a mental advantage as the squad wasn’t on the verge of insanity, doing the same thing over and over with identical results. Diadie Traore was dropped back for the whole match but was a brick wall stopping Chris Campoli and others from attacking down the central channel. Standing tall at centre-back was Jadon Lashley, who repeatedly threw himself in front of crosses and attackers. At the conclusion of the first half, he went down after successfully defending a cross and it sparked an intense discussion involving Adam Al-hbadi, who even drew a card from the referee.
There was a fair bit of caginess, with Nico Mesiano even forcing the hand of the referee to pull out a red card. Mesiano, completely out of the blue and uncalled for, kicked an opponent after being called offside.
If you want to contain TMU, it’s been a difficult year. The Gaels managed to stifle them consistently and effectively. It helped that Adams was obviously feeling good, but the shutdown was a full team performance, defined by hard work and always being a step ahead of the visitors.
Queen’s will move on to a clash with Toronto; the last time the two sides played was an entertaining 3-3 draw on the opening night of the season. Meanwhile, TMU looks to break out again offensively after a spell where they scored four times in three games, with one of those matches coming against the RMC Paladins. With Trent up next, they should be able to have an outburst of goals, the Excalibur actually scored thrice against Queen’s, in the end capitulating and losing 5-3 in an incredible match.
Headlines
- Just as they battled last year, the McMaster Marauders and York Lions are in the heat of a great race for the OUA West title. With the same amount of matches played and McMaster just a point ahead of the Lions, this coming weekend’s match between the two is must-watch television. To make it even more dramatic, the reverse fixture at York is slotted for just two days later.
- Following a wild first half in Sudbury in which Laurentian simply wouldn’t give up against Ontario Tech, as he so often does Omar Marzouk stepped up. The still high-flying Ridgebacks appeared as though they blew out the hosts 6-2; but without Marzouk scoring two unassisted, go-ahead goals it could’ve been a much less flattering scoreline.
- Speaking of Ontario Tech and title races, it’ll be difficult for them to keep up with the Carleton Ravens, who mirrored Tech’s unbeaten weekend. They also scored plenty against Laurentian (5-1) and edged Nipissing 2-1. Without a doubt, the OUA East is stacked this year with those schools and simultaneously TMU and Queen’s, but the Ravens and Ridgebacks both looked primed to go all the way. Hopefully, a playoff match between the two is on the cards since they don’t play in the regular season.
Canucks at School Player of the Week: Russell Stewart, Toronto Varsity Blues
The season hasn’t gone swimmingly for U of T, but promising signs last week against metro rivals TMU were more than promising. Additionally, Russell Stewart has been making strides, pulling this team forward both up the pitch and in the standings. A big 3-1 home win against the Trent Excalibur was finally the match where he broke through by rippling the net cords, and not once, but twice. (Plus an assist, capping off a great afternoon.)
The first goal is almost all Andrea Schifano’s doing, nearly getting floored by a challenge but somehow staying up with the advantage played, and he then played Stewart through impeccably. With a couple of feints and shimmies that Trent defender Noah Carew just couldn’t keep up with, Stewart bought himself some more space and blasted the ball into the top of the net.
It somehow only amplified the nerves for Toronto, who quickly conceded after a sloppy giveaway. Though Stewart made sure that the Varsity Blues’ grave wasn’t dug just yet. It took a while, but after Trent made their own defensive miscue, a long rebound fell to Stewart, who still made easy work of a shot from outside the box, and the goalkeeper was in a decent position to make a save.
Lastly, he helped seal the win with a decent cross and good movements to get to that point, but Michael Maslanka did pull off a pretty perfect bicycle kick.
Stewart is a leader by example and makes this season’s U of T worth watching. You simply can’t anticipate what he’ll do next, but you know it’ll be brilliant.