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Men’s soccer team earns late win against RMC

By Tagwa Moyo 

The rain wasn’t enough to stop the Ryerson men’s soccer team from taking care of business Saturday afternoon against Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) with a 3-2 win.

But Saturday’s win did not come easily to the Rams. After almost an hour long rain delay, the Rams took the pitch. Rather then a team that keeps possession and lets the game come to them, the Rams found themselves rushing passes and making unlikely mistakes.

RMC, on the other hand, came out ready to play and pounced on the sloppy play of the Rams. In the 28th minute, a Ryerson defender attempted a poor clear out of the defensive zone. The attempt hit an RMC player, redirecting the ball past an unsuspecting Ryerson keeper and giving the Paladins an early 1-0 lead.

“In the first half we lacked energy and intensity, but our team showed great character and resilience by coming back and eventually winning,” said striker Luka Lee. “I also thought Jamie Baker looked great even though he’s been out for so long. Having him back was a positive.”

The goal seemed to startle the Rams squad in the first half and they were unable to capitalize off the hard work of striker Marko Miketic, who was trying to bring up the energy for the Rams.

After the half, the Rams came out ready to turn things around and they wasted no time in applying heavy pressure on the Paladins. Within the first three minutes the Rams put up multiple scoring opportunities, only to be denied by RMC keeper.

Despite, the strong goaltending by RMC, the Rams were finally able to get on the score sheet off a soaring header from Kyle Stewart in the 48th minute. Following this goal the Rams seemed to take control of the game, remaining patient and keeping possession of the ball creating chance after chance.

“I saw that the RMC defenders weren’t really tuned in and so I focused on getting my head on the ball,” said Stewart. “This game shows that you can never underestimate your opponent even if you’ve beaten them before. It was a good lesson for the younger players on the team on how to grind and fight for a win.”

All the momentum, however, was brought to a halt momentarily in the 75th minute when RMC striker puts up a desperate shoot that ended up curving into the left corner just past the Rams keeper.

Ryerson wasted no time and quickly equalized in the 75th minute off a Abdallah El-Chanti goal. After the goal the Rams never looked back and took full control of the game during the 86th minute off a Baker goal that crushed the spirits of the Paladins.

Although the Rams were able to pick things up, coach Philip Prostran was not pleased with the way his Rams came into the game.

“The mindset and preparation going into the game was extremely poor, we looked past RMC and we probably should have paid the price.”

With this win the Rams improve their record to 6-0-1. Next, they take on the Queens Gaels.

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