By Jack MacCool and Gavin Axelrod
Summer’s over, school’s back in session and everyone is wearing their sweaters. And as the air gets chillier and the school assignments are piling up, sports are finally back in full-force at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU).
All the university’s clubs and varsity teams have returned to action and September had lots to highlight. From homecoming to stellar moments in soccer and a perfect game from a baseball pitcher, The Eyeopener is breaking down everything you might’ve missed during a busy September full of sports.
Homecoming a hit at TMU
TMU’s women’s hockey homecoming was a party many are still talking about.
Students packed Lake Devo for a pre-game tailgate where there was a DJ, food and free T-shirts. Walking down Gould Street, students were seen decked out in blue and gold gear, with many painting their faces with the school’s colours.
The women’s hockey team went toe-to-toe with the reigning U Sports champions, the Concordia Stingers. TMU dropped the contest 3-2, but rookie Britni Yammine shined, scoring a goal in the contest and goaltender Jayden Lawson made 33 saves.
Men’s Rugby not rucking around
TMU’s men’s Rugby team made headlines in the U Sports sphere when they knocked off the York University Lions 81-0 on Sept. 4. No, you didn’t read that wrong, that really was the margin of victory.
The university’s rugby team is a competitive club and doesn’t currently have Ontario University Athletics (OUA) status. However, they earned victories last month over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Waterloo Warriors.
Golf gets goin’
The TMU golf team had a busy September, competing in two invitational events. The first of the meets took place on Sept. 19 at the King’s Forest Golf Club in Hamilton, Ont. for the McMaster Invitational, where they placed 10th.
Third-year business management student Matthew McRae shot the best for the Bold, coming away with a score of 74, good for two over par. The Bold also participated in the Brock Invitational on Sept. 25, at SawMill Golf Club in Fenwick, Ont.
The team’s season only gets busier as they head into October. With meets taking place on the first, second and third of the month, the team will look to make the best of the opportunity before heading into the OUA championship in Ottawa from Oct. 14 to 16.
Perez surges in September
Third-year women’s soccer midfielder Ivymae Perez is off to a scorching start this season and scored five goals in four matches last month.
Perez joined TMU during the pandemic after spending the 2019 campaign at the University of South Florida, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One school. While Perez only played 171 minutes of action in 2021, she’s already shown in one month in why she once played at the highest level of collegiate sports.
The third-year’s big boot came in clutch in the squad’s 4-0 win over Trent University on Sept. 18, where she potted two goals.
Curling for bid on world stage
The winter edition of the Federation Du International Sport (FISU) World University Games rolls around every two years, pitting top collegiate athletes from across the world against each other. But this year’s 31st Winter Universiade needed a different qualifying format to find a Canadian representative, as U Sports didn’t have a curling championship last season.
So, as the reigning 2022 OUA silver medalists, TMU’s men’s curling squad was invited to the nation’s capital for a shot to qualify for the Games. The Bold opened the qualifying tournament on Sept. 22, besting the Queen’s University Gaels 9-5. The men’s squad also beat the Gaels 8-3 in the OUA Championship last March.
However, the Bold dropped their next two matchups and needed the 8-5 win over the University of Alberta on Sept. 23 for a shot at a playoff spot. The Bold lost their final match of the tournament 6-9 against the Regina Cougars and finished fifth at the event.
A win is a win
The TMU women’s softball team’s record isn’t where they’d like it to be, but the team has a lot to build on just under halfway through their season. Having played six games last month, the team was awarded two victories over Carleton University due to forfeiture. However, they have had success with their bats early on.
The team put up nine runs against the University of Windsor in their second game of the season and 13 against York in an extra-inning showdown which saw them lose 14-13 on Sept. 23. The team plays four games per weekend throughout September and October. They saw four games get postponed, two of which became the Carleton forfeit wins. The hope is that the other two games will be rescheduled later in the season.
Men’s soccer finishes square
Everyone on campus this week will be talking about the men’s soccer team’s 15-0 win over the Royal Military College Paladins this weekend, but this is a September sports recap.
The Bold men’s soccer team also went 2-2 last month, dropping matches to nationally ranked opponents in Carleton University and Ontario Tech University.
Baseball’s postseason push
The TMU baseball team had a strong end to the semester’s first month, accumulating a 4-5 record, winning their last three games of the month. The streak included wins over McMaster University and York University. In the midst of the streak, fourth-year pitcher Matt Tohana secured the baseball team’s first perfect game in program history in a 6-0 win over York. Tohana pitched seven hitless innings and struck out ten batters while only throwing 78 pitches during the history-making performance.
The Bold jumped out to a four-game win streak in October, including a pair of victories over a very strong University of Toronto program.
Heated nationals rematch
The Bold men’s hockey team’s pre-season campaign came to a close this past weekend when it faced off against a familiar foe. After defeating the University of New Brunswick Reds at last year’s national championship tournament, the rematches of an improbable upset took place at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
Both games were heated affairs, with the Reds picking up two wins. The first game ended with a score of 1-0, with the second ending 3-1 in favour of the Reds. The second contest also saw a total of 68 minutes in penalties handed out to both teams as they battled tooth and nail in every skirmish for the puck.
Head coach Johnny Duco told The Eye the two programs are rivals, even though they play in different provinces.
We’re still not used to the national champs losing
The TMU women’s basketball team had something happen to them for the first time in a very long time—they lost. Coming off an undefeated national championship season, it was a strange sight at the MAC when the team dropped its first pre-season game 72-67 to the University of Regina on Sept. 30.
After losing a number of key players from last year, the Bold are experiencing growing pains as they attempt to put together another national championship run. The team’s pre-season slate will help them build for the regular season, as they still have six games left before the real deal tips off at home on Nov. 5.
Leave a Reply