TORONTO, ON. – There’s been a lot going on in the OUA lately: the change of the colour of the leaves means hockey and basketball are back, and an intriguing football season continues, not far removed from an epic Panda Game.
Hopefully, though, you don’t lose sight of soccer as the colder temperatures sink in. Most teams have just two or three matches remaining, and as the home stretch beckons, plenty is left on the table.
Match of the Week: TMU Bold 2-0 Ontario Tech
Although this matchup was billed to be a goalfest and maybe didn’t deliver as much as it could’ve in that sense, both the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks and TMU Bold had ample chances on a windy afternoon in Downsview. The two sides had strong midfields putting constant pressure on the opposition, and forwards taking shots, just none could break the deadlock that both goaltenders had put in place.
Even with two of the best talismans in the league, former Vaughn Azzuri teammates Omar Marzouk and Chris Campoli, neither side could find them through on goal in the first half. It was always going to be an intriguing clash, and we’ve learned more about how good the defences are rather than attacks.
TMU did get pushed back for a while, struggling to get in deep pockets because they were besieged by Paulo Spedaccini and Carlos Edic’s constant pursuit of the ball. Kai Martin played another excellent match at centre-back/fullback for TMU, eventually just dribbling with the ball rather than passing. Ontario Tech surely irritated the Bold, though they did the same to themselves by missing many chances. Marzouk had one from long range just inches over the bar, a moment he’d like to get back.
TMU goalkeeper Dante Ferraro was very commanding and kept the defence in line when they let up a bit. Strength was definitely found in numbers, but TMU’s defenders often swarmed the ball and on corners left Ridgeback players open. Ferraro managed a good save, while Tech had five off-target.
Obviously, something was said by Bold coach Filip Prostran in the locker room at half-time because TMU immediately flipped a switch for the second frame. Martin took the ball with him far enough down to pitch to whip a cross in, only for it to be parried away by Kevon Grant. Luckily for TMU, one of their players was isolated, with Jaylen Drummond tucking the rebound away.
Unknown adversity did actually strengthen Ontario Tech, and you could see why they’ve scored so often this season. The chemistry and passing routines to find runners in behind is simply unfair. Defenders are going into midfield, there’s a confidence in each other’s ability that enables a style of play that is just free of worry. They took their time when given set-piece opportunities to map out the gameplan, but couldn’t capitalize. TMU had to park the bus and reset, and had touches few and far between in the offensive zone.
They sprung counter-attacks to Luca Di Marco and fellow wingers because it was too difficult to play Campoli and others down the middle. The Ridgebacks were well organized, sometimes only having a back three but covering ground well. Alexander Irwin did a really good job of navigating to pitch to play on both sides of the ball, residing at centre-back when TMU pressured.
Tragically, Ferraro went down in a scary collision that resulted in him being carried off on a stretcher. A scene you never want to see paused the game for a long while, though now TMU had more to play for than just a massive win, they wanted to close this out for their rock at the back. We hope Ferraro makes a quick recovery and joins the Bold again soon.
Campoli did just that, establishing a momentum back in the match after players spent time warming up, on another instance where Tech left an opponent wide open for a tap-in. Colin Gander’s perfect free kick fell for Luca Pofiris, who headed the ball across goal for Campoli.
TMU choked out what was left of the Ridgebacks’ fighting spirit, and held on for a tight win. It makes a statement to the division, shutting out the league’s best side at not doing just that. TMU are now third, behind Tech by a sizeable number of points still. They’re schedule doesn’t get any easier since dominant division-leaders Carleton are on the docket. Ontario Tech will have to wait to bounce back as they don’t have a match this upcoming weekend.
Headlines
- It’s been a chaotic couple weeks at the top of the OUA West standings. Two pivotal matches between the York Lions and McMaster Marauders swung the way of York, which put them in the sole position of the number one spot. Despite that seemingly being the final nail in the coffin of other schools hoping to be crowned regular-season champion of the OUA West, out of the blue a new potential power has emerged: the Brock Badgers. With various goalscorers chipping in every match, they’ve got a powerful offence. Dispatching Guelph in a match that showed some true character last week set the stage for potentially going top. All they needed was a win over Waterloo, and they delivered with a 4-2 victory. They are now a point ahead of York, whom are their opponents for their last two matches of the season.
- All of Carleton (4th), York (6th), Ontario Tech (7th), TMU (8th), and Western (10th) occupy enviable positions inside U SPORTS’ top ten ranking of the best men’s soccer programs in the country at the moment. The question at hand is: can an OUA team win for the first time since 2015? The answer is complicated. While, yes, a team like Carleton or Ontario Tech can overwhelm any opponent with goal-scoring prowess, it’ll be very difficult to stop a UBC, Montreal, or hosts Cape Breton from winning it all. In a conference with so many great teams, the OUA representative could be so tired from the season and playoffs that they don’t have enough in the tank to go one step further on the national stage. Maybe the aforementioned Carleton or TMU, a team with big personnel depth, has a good shot at it.
Canucks at School Player of the Week: Andrea Gortana, Queen’s Gaels
The Queen’s Gaels steamrolled the RMC Paladins this weekend, as almost every program does on a regular basis, yet it was not Matthew Ciavarro stealing the show. While he picked up just one of the six goals Queen’s scored on the day, Gortana notched two goals and an assist. A fixture of this Gaels team in offence, you can always expect to see Gortana making room for himself and signalling for through-balls.
Pablo Hempelmann-Perez sent a great pass through traffic that Andrea Gortana received before dribbling around a few defenders and striking home on the ground. Queen’s quick pressure off the goal kick which later led to that goal caught RMC off guard and they suffered.
Of course, Gortana wasn’t done. Tasked with corner kick duties, an outswinger fell perfectly for Ian Anderson to get a head on it. By now, it was 4-0 and the first half wasn’t even done yet, the match so far gone but not for Gortana, whose afternoon was capped off by plucking the ball away from a goalkeeper’s pass and firing it from distance into the net. He flattened a sudden good spell of possession from RMC.