NORTH YORK, Ont. – It was a slow start, but the Ontario Tech University men's soccer team exploded for five goals in the second half en route to a 6-3 win over the OUA defending champion York Lions on Sunday.
With it being early in the year, the first goal allowed by the Ridgebacks came from defensive miscommunication as the Lions were left with an easy scoring opportunity to find the scoreboard first.
Ontario Tech answered with a goal by
Fadi Salback (Bowmanville, Ont.), who finished on a chip to the back post by Chris Campoli (Woodbridge, Ont.). Before the half York added two more goals to lead 3-1.
At the break the Ridgebacks coaching staff made some adjustments, which worked in shutting down the Lions and leading to offensive opportunities.
Mateo Marques (Burlington, Ont.) scored the second Ridgebacks goal, finishing on a through pass from Campoli. Marques setup the next goal, sending
Taidgh Burton (Mississauga, Ont.) who scored top corner.
The fourth goal came from
Jean Paul Ajala-Alexis (Ajax, Ont.), who buried a volley. He followed his goal by setting up Salback for the fifth Ontario Tech goal.
Elijah Lorenc-Clarke (Scarborough, Ont.) scored the sixth and final goal of the match after Burton and Campoli moved the ball to him in the open.
In goal
Nicholas Miller (Oshawa, Ont.) played the opening half, while
Matthew Mattila (Pickering, Ont.) had the clean sheet in the second half.
"What's interesting with the men's program is 21 of our players are in their first or second year," said head coach
Peyvand Mossavat. "We feel that the group worked hard in the offseason last year, which we noticed this year. They can now perform better and be more competitive. It's been exciting to see the transformation over the last few years and we're excited to see how they measure against the quality teams in our division. Three of the teams in our division are arguably the top three in the country, so it will be tough competition for them to match."
The Ridgebacks now return home to Vaso's Field for their season opener on Sunday, Sept. 1 against the Carleton Ravens. The match is scheduled to kick off at 2:15 p.m.
Overall Record: 1-1-0 (W-L-D)
Conference Record: 0-0-0
Next Match: Sunday, Sept. 1 vs. Carleton Ravens (2:15 p.m. – Vaso's Field)
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