UOIT picks up their first win of the year

OUA Men's Soccer: UOIT defeated Waterloo 2-1

OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT men's soccer team earned their first win of the season as they defeated the University of Waterloo 2-1 on Friday night.

The Ridgebacks got off to a great start as second year midfielder Declan Weir (Whitby, Ont.) chipped a shot over the Waterloo goalkeeper just four minutes into the game.

UOIT would build on their lead at the 29 minute mark when John McMichael (Oshawa, Ont.) scored his first career OUA goal. Joe Vaz (Whitby, Ont.) would set up the play, beating his defender and sending a ball through the middle to McMichael in the slot. McMichael managed to one-time it into the back of the net to put the Ridgebacks up 2-0.

In the second half, Waterloo managed to cut the UOIT lead in half as Mohamed Aborig beat goalkeeper Travis Martin (Port Perry, Ont.) on a penalty kick with five minutes remaining in the game.

Waterloo would continue to press for the equalizer, but UOIT's defence held up as the Ridgebacks earned three points. Ridgeback defender Menelek Luke (Pickering, Ont.) made a number of key stops in the late stages of the game while Martin had a solid performance in net.

With the win, UOIT is right back in the playoff mix as they trail the University of Windsor by just one point in the OUA western conference. The Ridgebacks sport a 1-3-1 record while Waterloo falls to 0-5-0.

The Ridgebacks will be on the road on Sunday as they take on the No. 1 ranked York Lions. York has outscored their opponents 17-3 heading into action this weekend.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE RIDGEBACKS
Overall Record: 1-5-2
Conference Record: 1-3-1

Next Game: Sun. Sept. 15 @ York (3:15 p.m.)

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