Ravens kick off regular season against Queen’s
The Carleton University Ravens men’s and women’s soccer teams are set to open their OUA regular season this Saturday, Sept. 4, taking on the Queen’s University Gaels at Ravens’ Field. Kick-off is at 1 p.m. for the women, followed by the men at 3:15 p.m.
Last year, the Ravens women’s team had many new faces, including head coach, Alex McNutt. Working through the rebuilding year, the women finished the regular season with a 6-8-2 record for 20 points, landing them in fifth place in the OUA East.
The women’s roster features many newcomers again this season, but with a few exhibition games under their belt, McNutt is already seeing promise in this year’s squad.
“Despite all the new faces, the team is quickly gelling,” said McNutt. “They’ve shown character and quality in their exhibition games as well as good team spirit. With a win against Laval and a tie against Sherbrooke in preseason games, they have a good platform to begin the season.”
The last time the two women’s teams met was in the OUA East semi-final when Queen’s eliminated the Ravens from postseason play in a 3-1 defeat.
Finishing fourth at the CIS championship last year and losing just one game in the regular season, the Gaels are looking to go on a similar run this year.
As for the men, the Ravens finished the 2009-2010 regular season with a 7-5-2 record and 23 points, putting them in third place. In the OUA East semi-final match against the Gaels, OUA East First Team All-Star Peter Manginas (Belleville, Ont.), scored the winning penalty kick to earn his team a berth in the OUA Final Four. The Ravens came up short in the bronze medal match however, as the University of Western Ontario Mustangs earned a 3-2 victory in penalty kicks.
Head coach Sandy Mackie is hoping to build on the Ravens strong performance at the end of the 2009-2010 campaign. The coaching staff is optimistic for the upcoming season as two key players are returning from injury – goalkeeper Karl Wasslen (Ottawa) and central defender and captain Nicholas Persichino (Thunder Bay, Ont.).
Most of the Ravens veterans are returning from a preseason tour in British Columbia. The team came away with a win and two losses, but Mackie said he believes the results didn’t reflect his team’s strong performance.
Going into Saturday’s game against Queen’s, the Ravens head coach is expecting a tough match-up.
“This is going to be a difficult game,” Mackie said. “It’s a tough challenge to play Queen’s in the opening game of the season. We’ll need to focus and do the simple things well.”
Queen’s is looking to build on last year’s regular season success that saw the men post their best record since 2006 at 8-2-4.
The Gaels are now coming off losses, after competing in the Old Four Tournament at Queen’s, where the men fell to the McGill Redmen, 2-1, in championship play, and the women were defeated by the Western Mustangs, 1-0, in the consolation final.
