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SOCCER SQUADS END JOURNEY ON HIGH NOTE

By Natalie Russell

The Ryerson Rams men’s soccer team took the turf by storm this weekend, capturing the second place title in the first Annual Humber College tournament.

The tournament was held this past weekend in Vaughan and was open to varsity college, university, and alumni teams.

Ryerson elected to enter two teams into the tournament, one comprised of first-year players and the other with the veterans. Saturday was the first day of action, and it saw both Rams teams playing four games, each lasting 25 minutes.

Both squads finished the day with a 2-2 record, placing the Rookie Rams into the quarter-finals, while the vets were given a bye into the semi-finals on Sunday. Leading the way in scoring was Nicholas Suppa and Radu Melnic.

The rookie team went head-to-head with Humber Alumni 1 in the quarter-finals. The team displayed a lot of speed and skill in the game, but in the end, their inexperience held them back from moving on.

Injured veteran goalkeeper, Daniel Brovedani, who was appointed interim coach for the tournament, played a key role in keeping the boys focused and on task. “The rookies represented themselves very well and proved that the future of Ryerson soccer is in good hands,” he said.

In the semi-finals, the Veteran Rams played hard for 25 minutes against a strong squad from Guelph University. The game ended 1-0 in favour of the Rams as J.M. Mele netted the winner with less than eight minutes left.

In the finals, the vets were up against the Humber Alumni 2 team, which was filled with many ex-Canadian professional soccer players. It was a hard-fought battle, but the Rams were beaten on a superb goal with five minutes remaining to set the score 1-nil.

It was a solid showing by both teams, as key players such as Marko Milanovic, Milos Krivokapic, and Frank Morelli led the Rams on and off the field. The Rams tried to keep things simple and play strong defensively, said second-year Ram Terry Indellicato.

“We fell short in the finals and couldn’t capitalize on goal-scoring opportunities,” he said.

“The tournament as a whole was successful, with both teams coming out of the group stage. It would have been nice to see the rookies go farther, but I’m very happy to have gotten to the finals with the vets,” Brovedani said.

The team will play in the University of Guelph tournament March 3.

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