McMaster women's soccer season ended on a high as the men's team continues through to the OUA finals
The regular season for both McMaster University’s women’s and men’s teams came to a successful close earlier this month. Both teams have earned themselves a playoff spot, with the women’s team finishing fourth and the men’s team finishing second in their respective divisions.
In their first round matchup the women took on the Brock Badgers. After failing to reach the playoffs in the season prior, the team was looking to make greater strides this time around.
On Wednesday night, the Marauders did just that. Within just 30 seconds, Bryanna Caldwell found the back of the net. The top goal scorer made good on a corner sent in from Ignacia Jimenez.
With the wind in her sails and a loud home crowd spurring the team on, Caldwell managed to score an almost identical goal. Another corner by Jimenez found the head of Caldwell, making the score two to zero.
“Ignacia puts the ball in the box and I know where it's going to land every time. It’s a connection only we have. Practice makes perfect,” says Caldwell.
“Ignacia puts the ball in the box and I know where it's going to land every time. It’s a connection only we have. Practice makes perfect.”
Bryanna Caldwell, Women's Soccer Team
The Badgers managed to put one in, but McMaster responded with a goal of their own by Tiam Pourbakhtiari. Brock put in one more goal just before the end of the game, bringing the game to a final score of three to two.
The women’s team went on to the quarterfinals to take on the Western Mustangs. In a disappointing game though, the team lost five to zero, effectively ending their playoff run.
While the team did not advance further, they are still looking to grow in the seasons to come. Having made it further than they had last year, it seems their game can only improve.
“With every season and game we’ve played, we’ve improved. This series of games is just a step in our path in growing as a team.” says Caldwell.
As the men’s team finished in second place, they were given a bye week. Resultantly, the bye week automatically placed the team in a quarterfinal spot, where they would take on the Guelph Gryphons.
The last time these teams met, the Marauders lost by two goals. This time however, the advantage was to the Marauders as Guelph was not awarded a bye week. The Gryphons took on the Brock Badgers just three days prior in a game that took the teams to double overtime and penalty kicks.
The Marauders won two to one against the Gryphons. Goals by Amir Shirazi and Miles Green brought the team over the Gryphons and into the OUA semi finals.
Facing the Nipissing Lakers in the semi final round, the two teams met on a very foggy night at Ron Joyce Stadium. It was the furthest most members on the team had ever gotten, so the feeling of anxiety was high for many in what turned out to be a really slow start.
“Many of us have not been in this position before, so maybe the nerves got to us,” explained Bryan Florent.
This was apparent as the game at half was tied with neither team having scored. Fortunately, the Marauders turned this around, coming out of the break on a game changing streak.
“The first half was very much a stalemate with attacks coming from both sides. In the second half, we had a change in mentality. We realized there's a difference between playing fast and playing rushed. We played rushed, which didn’t allow us to create opportunities,” said Florent.
"We realized there's a difference between playing fast and playing rushed. We played rushed, which didn’t allow us to create opportunities."
Bryan Florent, Men's Soccer Team
The team came out with a resounding win, with Green putting away two with assists from Sean Ross and Shirazi and Ed Bryan Florent putting away one on the assist from Justin Baker. This win qualified the team for Nationals and secured them a spot in the OUA Finals. They will now take on Toronto Metropolitan University in a challenge for the OUA Championship on Nov. 5.
It’s been an astonishing season on both sides, with head coach Miranda Wiley and rookie head coach Chris Markou leading their teams to new levels. With the roads paved by the current teams, the future of McMaster soccer looks bright.
C/O Travis Nguyen
With about two weeks into the new soccer season, Dusan Kovacevic has already made a name for himself.
It is not uncommon for athletes to progress well throughout a season. Certain players impress both on individual and group levels, but the story of Dusan Kovacevic, a member of the men's varsity soccer team, has impressed at an unprecedented level.
The first game that the Marauders men's soccer team played competitively was against the Algoma Thunderbirds. Expectations were high for the boys, considering the successful history with the Thunderbirds from previous years, so they had to put their complacency aside to ensure a win.
Sure enough, the Marauders swept the Thunderbirds seven to zero at the Ron Joyce stadium on a rainy Saturday. Although the team represented McMaster University welland went above and beyond, Kovacevic was the man on the pitch that stood out. Scoring a whopping four goals throughout the 90 minutes, he was the man of the match. Not only did he score four goals, but Kovacevic managed to get off ten shots, which was by far the largest tally in the game.
Shortly after the first game, the Marauders played the Thunderbirds once again. The Marauders won seven to two, marking another significant and impressive win for McMaster. Once again, the man of the match was Kovacevic, scoring three goals and bagging one assist. There's no doubt that the sharp shooter loves a goal against the Thunderbirds.
Shortly after the weekend during which these impressive wins occurred, Kovacevic earned himself an Ontario University Athletics team of the week award. Speaking to Kovacevic about his award and his general reaction, he expressed his satisfaction and cited that it was an honour.
“To be honest with you, I only found out because I got tagged in an Instagram photo. At that moment, it was very surreal and it felt amazing . . . To win this award was truly an honour,” said Kovacevic.
When asked about the effect of COVID-19 on his progress, Kovacevic discussed how often he unfortunately had to delay training due to regulations.
“I did have my regular soccer training up until March 2020, but it all went to a standstill from there on. I did have some pick up games here and there with my friends, but it was no match for the actual training we had before the pandemic. I had hopes last year that by the summer of 2020 this will be done and that we will resume the season, but that did not work out either, so I am very happy to finally be back,” explained Kovacevic.
Many new faces have joined the Marauders varsity soccer team, meaning the team’s faring was unpredictable. However, the first five games have gone off to a good start for them; the team has a total of three wins, one draw and only one loss. Out of the 22 goals that McMaster has scored so far this season, Kovaceic accounts for ten of them, making him the top scorer of the central division. Additionally, the Marauders are currently leading the central division with ten points.
Although Kovacevic is very fond of the team’s current success within the league, he said that they have just begun.
“Everything against Algoma and the first game with Laurentian seemed to go our way, but we have just begun. The game against [University of Toronto] was very entertaining and they’re very good opponents. We’ve also got Nipissing and Ryerson to play soon, so it will not be an easy couple of weeks but I am confident that we will do well,” explained Kovacevic
When asked about the team chemistry and his confidence in the squad, Kovacevic was very excited to talk about how much he believes in them.
“I personally think that the squad we currently have is one of the best ones that I’ve been a part of. Although we have many [first- and second-years] coming in due to the COVID gap, they are very talented and fit in with the team well. All of the older ones, including myself, also get along really well and that is why I think that we are going to have a very successful season,” said Kovacevic.
The Marauders’ season is not over yet — far from it. After the regular season, if the Marauders place high enough in their conference table, they’ll play in the play-offs and eventually fight for the OUA title.
You can follow the men’s soccer team games and all statistics here.
