A 0-0 tie against Trent and a 1-0 loss to Laurentian drops men’s soccer team’s record to 0-3-1
By Josh Brown
The Rams men’s soccer team may have been outmanned during Saturday’s game against the Laurentian Voyageurs but they definitely weren’t outplayed.
Despite a fabulous defensive effort, the Rams lost to the defending OUAA champions thanks to an altercation late in the game which resulted in red cards and ejections for two Rams.
“We had a lot more chance after Ryerson got the two red cards,” said Voyageur coach Greg Zorbas, a former Ryerson Business student. “It was a battle and we struggled, Ryerson came to play.”
With the Rams down one man, the door was wide open for the patient and experienced Voyageurs to score the winning goal.
Rams coach Stuart Miller said it wasn’t so much the red cards that led to the loss but the Rams lack of composure.
“It’s not the loss of the man that makes the difference, it’s the loss of composure. Laurentian regained their composure within a few minutes of losing a player. We didn’t regain our composure for 15 minutes after we lost two of ours.”
It was during those 15 minutes that Voyageur striker David McDonald scored the game’s only goal.
But the Rams loss shouldn’t over-shadow their amazing defensive play, especially that of Anthony Chisholm.
Chisholm put on a stellar defensive clinic stopping six Voyageur breakaways and blocking numerous shots.
“Chisholm was superb today,” Miller said. “In all the years I’ve been coaching, that was one of the better performances I’ve ever seen from a Ryerson player.”
Chisholm said that it takes time to get used to new teammates in the defensive zone.
“For the first two games it was tough, most of the guys weren’t adjusted to the speed of the game. But after the second game the defense really started to gel.”
The Rams’ strong chemistry was evident during Saturday’s game. Their passes were connecting, they were getting to the ball first and their ball control and communication had greatly improved since the beginning of the year.
Vocally, goaltender John Moerman has taken charge of the team.
“As a goaltender, you have to be very vocal on the field. I’m not only trying to keep the guys going but also coach them into position. I have to encourage them and if they start getting quiet I have to let them know.”
The Rams 0-3-1 record is deceiving. Losing to last year’s OUAA champions by one goal proves that the Rams can challenge the best teams in the league.
On Wednesday the Rams battled the Trent Excalibur to a scoreless tie for their first point of the season. The loss to Laurentian drops the Rams record to 0-3-1.
As for the Voyageurs, they certainly live up to their name. “We travel five hours on the bus to get to Toronto and it’s our shortest commute from Sudbury,” Zorbas said. “It really affects you physically but we have been doing it for 25 years so we can’t use it as an excuse.”
Certainly not, the Voyageurs are 3-1, tied with Carleton for top spot in the OUAA East division.
OWIAA Notes: Ryerson’s women’s soccer team was also in action last week. A 1-1 tie with Trent and a 4-0 loss to Ottawa drops the Rams record to 0-3-1, one point behind Toronto and Trent and two points behind York and Carleton.
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