After a false start on Wednesday due to a water logged turf field, the Ravens faced the windy remnants of Hurricane Patricia to play the Nipissing Lakers with a ticket to the OUA Quarterfinals and a date with the Ryerson Rams on the line. The first half had little to talk about from both sides, with both sides creating little to no opportunities. Nipissing had an early chance when Jean Michel Poulin broke free down the right wing before sending a low ball across the top of the 6-yard box which went right past the Ravens defenders and keeper Felix “Two Dates” Daigle, but there were no Lakers players on the other end to convert the scoring opportunity. The teams went into the half tied at 0-0.
The second half kicked off with the Ravens energized following coach Loney’s half-time pep talk. Fifth year veterans Calof and Lopez also took a leadership role in getting the troops fired up for the half. With the momentum shifting in favour of the Ravens the chances started to come as Carleton brought on fourth-year midfielder Mintcho “Old Man” Mintchev to add some grit and energy to the lineup. This move quickly paid dividends as the Ravens began to establish some flow on offence.
In the 58th minute, a Piccioli corner lead to consecutive point blank header’s from rookie defender Dondrae Fells. The first year Raven was unlucky to get on the score sheet as Lakers keeper Munro heroically turned it away diving to his right, but the rebound popped out to Fells and his second header hit the cross-bar before falling down on the goal line and amazingly staying out of the net. (Many in the crowd could have sworn that the ball had crossed the line!!) Carleton shouted and argued for a handball, but to no avail. The Ravens continued to apply pressure in search of the opening goal and were unfortunate not to score in the 65th minute with keeper Munro turning away four shots in a row from inside the box. Andrew “Big Man” Bryan, Daud “Chris Bosch” Dahir and Mekonen Lovemore-White were all rejected as the Nipissing goalie kept his team alive. Following some more brilliant scoring chances, the Ravens finally put a goal on the board when Dahir made some excellent moves down the wing and skipped past a few defenders before centering the ball to Bryan who was able to collect the ball, step past the outstretched keeper and fire the ball home into the gaping net for his 11th goal of the season. Bryan had previously missed on an open header from a Martino long throw, so it was great to see the Big Man get redemption with an amazing play to give the Ravens the lead.
Despite dealing with the outside elements all game, Carleton got the win and would have had more goals if it were not for the outstanding performance of Lakers keeper Grainger Munro, who came up huge throughout the contest with a number of highlight reel saves! “We did create numerous opportunities in the second half,” said Ravens head coach Sandy Mackie. “[Munro] was the man-of-the-match. He had a couple of outstanding saves.” The windy conditions played a tremendous factor on the flow of the game in the first half as the teams had a difficult time moving the ball through the air. On several free kicks and goal kicks, the ball could be seen rolling away from the players who would then have to re-position it.
A big shout out to all of the alumni in attendance, including: Kyle McHenry, Karl Wasslen, Mike Hoefler, Kriss Brauns, Will Murray, Pano, Pano’s Brother, Alic Edgar, Andrew Latty, Andrew Parks, and more!! Special shout out to Joey Kewin who watched all of the action online!!
The victory inches Carleton one game closer to the OUA Final 4. The Ravens will now take the trip down to Toronto to take on the first-place Ryerson Rams in an OUA East semi-final on Sunday.
Calling all Toronto Ravens – Sunday, November 1st @ 6pm
We are asking all Toronto Ravens to come out and support the team this Sunday as they take on the Ryerson Rams. This year York University is hosting Nationals and that means that there will be an extra spot for an OUA team to qualify.
Playoffs – OUA Quarter-Final
Carleton at Ryerson – Downsview Park Turf #1 – 6 p.m. (Toronto, ON)
Big Man Bryan steps past the keeper to slot home the winning goal!!! 
HANDBALL in the Box!!!! 
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