The University of Windsor Lancers men's soccer team fought hard in a losing effort Sunday (Sept. 20) night at Ron Joyce Stadium in Hamilton, Ont., dropping a 3-1 contest to the McMaster Marauders.
GAME FLOW
Lancer freshman goalie
Luca Vano was called upon early and often, posting massive saves on Niko Eskit, Karl Espiro, and Nicolas Fonteca within the first 20 minutes before Romain Sordet squeaked one past the blue and gold in the 27th minute, putting McMaster up 1-0.
Windsor quickly stormed back with its blue-collar attitude three minutes later as third-year midfielder Matthew Chimenti sent a beautiful cross into the penalty area for Sports Management student
Owen Scott to rocket past Ethan Cagalj, tying the game at one.
Three minutes into the second half, the Marauders got back into their scoring form as AJ Robichaud fired his second goal of the year past Vano, putting McMaster up 2-1. Cristian Alfieri sealed the blue and gold's fate in the 78th minute with a perfect strike into the bottom right corner.
Windsor kept up with McMaster and played their hearts out until the final whistle, despite what the final score might indicate. Marauders goalie Ethan Cagalj had to earn every save he made tonight, especially in the second half with two diving stops in the 69th and 72nd minutes.
The Lancers finished the game in the Marauder end with two golden chances by
Ciaran O'Connor and
Issam Hassoun, but neither opportunity got them within striking distance.
STATS
Through eight games, the Lancers have now received goals from seven different players:
Ottavio Liburdi,
Wilchrist Abdo,
Ryan Hickson,
Omar Soufan,
Matthew Chimienti,
Issam Hassoun, and
Owen Scott. This level of depth from such a young roster is a huge plus for head coach Demetri Vacratsis.
Shot-wise, the Lancers sent everything they had to the net tonight, led by Hassoun with three shots on goal, but Cagalj's nine saves were a huge reason Windsor only finished with one goal.
For the Marauders, Nicolas Fonteca led his team with two shots on target–they finished with eight on goal as a team.
Tonight's matchup also featured three yellow cards for both teams and 20 fouls overall (13-7 McMaster).
UP NEXT
The Lancers will travel to Mustangs Field in London, Ont. to face their biggest rival, the Western Mustangs, on Friday, September 25 at 8:15 p.m. before returning to Alumni Stadium on Sunday, October 4 to host the Brock Badgers at 3:15 p.m.
Tickets are available for purchase at
golancers.ca/tickets, or you can watch online at
oua.tv.
