Sunday 2 October 2011

University Men: Queen's Gaels 2, Carleton Ravens 4

The game between the Queen's men and the Carleton men followed soon after the women's game finished. I had to miss the first few minutes of the game due to the need to get a heavier jacket. The chill of the first game had left me shivering, so I upgraded to my grey Toronto FC stadium jacket, which sheltered me from the wind and cold. The wind had picked up between the first and second games of the day, but the ambient temperature had climbed slightly.

I arrived in the 5th minute of the match, just as Queen's was taking a kickoff. Carleton's Andrew Latty, one of their strikers, had just scored, moments before my arrival. Within 5 minutes, Carleton had doubled their lead to 2-0 as a ball had been pushed across the face of goal and fired in at the far post by their centre midfielder Sam McHugh.

Queen's was dressed in yellow for the match, just as the women's team, but Carleton was wearing white jerseys with red shorts. The teams kicked off the same way as the women, with Queen's attacking with the wind, although it did not seem to be helping them at all.


Queen's was able to put some pressure on Carleton after the second goal and in the 19th minute this led to a free kick in the near corner a few yards off of the end line. Carleton's left midfielder Kristian Quosdorf refused to back away from the ball the required distance despite being warned, and received a caution for not respecting the required distance from the ball on a free kick. The kick was eventually taken, a header flicked on by a Queen's player and a second Queen's header deflected off a Carleton defender out for a corner. The corner was taken and fell to Queen's striker Mac Ojiaku, but his shot went just wide of the post.

Queen's won another free kick in the 22nd minute. It was put in and Pat Zanetti, Queen's second striker, was able to get his head on the ball and put it past an unmovingMark Krocko,Carleton's goalkeeper, into the back of the net to make the score 2-1 for Carleton. Unfortunately, within a minute, Queen's gave up a penalty when one of Carleton's strikers was brought down from behind as he was moving away from the goal. Sam McHugh stepped up and drilled the kick into the left side of the net at Queen's goalkeeper Marshal Peacock dove the other way.

Throughout the first half, Peacock did not seem quite on top of his game. He misjudged a few balls that came into his area and the communication between the defense and goalkeeper seemed to break down several times causing chances or problems in the Queen's penalty area.

Neither team had any good chances for the rest of the half and the teams went into the dressing rooms with Carleton leading by a 3-1 scoreline.

During the half-time talks, Queen's coach Chris Gencarelli must have said something to fire up his team as they came out and played hard against Carleton from the kickoff. They pushed forward and won an early free kick about 40 yards from the goal near the sideline. Jeff Borges, a Kingston player, was starting his first home game of the season and played the entire game at left back for Queen's. He stepped up to take the kick and swung it toward the near post. Carleton's goalkeeper came for the ball and as he punched at it, collided with a defender. Queen's midfielder Nate Klemencic was able to get his foot on the ball and put it off of the defender. It struck a second Carleton defender and rebounded into the unguarded net to bring the scoreline to 3-2.

Once again, Carleton threatened off of the kickoff, and Queen's central defender David Tom was forced to bring down a Carleton player, earning him a caution for unsporting conduct. Fortunately for Queen's, they were able to defend the free kick and clear the ball. A few minutes later in the 51st minute, a Carleton defender carried the ball through the centre of the park and attacked Tom's position. Queen's centre midfielder Nick Pateris closed him down from behind and tackled him hard. Pateris earned a caution for unsporting behaviour on the play, but stayed down on the turf. When he had collided with the Carleton player, his forearm had come back and hit him in the face. He left the field with blood on his face and took no further part in the game.

The game was a bit subdued for the next several minutes, but began to pick up again when Carleton's midfielder Ryan Beckford laid Klemencic out with a shoulder to the chest in at the side of the field near the centre-line. He was shown a caution for unsporting behaviour. This incident seemed to fire up both teams and the game became more heavily contested with the tackles getting a bit rougher and neither team shying away from contact.

In the 73rd, Carleton put the game away when McHugh picked up the ball at the top corner of the penalty area, completely uncontested. He cut toward the penalty spot, and as both Queen's centrebacks challenged him, he was able to hit the ball as he fell. The movement of the ball took everyone by surprise and snuck into the Queen's goal to put Carleton up 4-2, giving McHugh his hat trick. This goal took Queen's right out of the game, and their morale seemed to drop. Neither team put much pressure on either goal for the last quarter hour of the game, and the game finished 4-2. Carleton was credited with 14 shots on the Queen's goal, while Queen's took only 5 over the course of the match.

The Queen's men play their next games up in Toronto against UofT and Ryerson next Saturday and Sunday afternoon.

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