Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

 

If Gersi Xhuti’s breakthrough rookie season needed an exclamation point, it certainly got one on Oct. 30.

With his Marauder team struggling to find a cutting edge in their OUA quarterfinal against the Guelph Gryphons, it was the Albanian midfielder who provided the much-needed spark. After threatening the goalmouth periodically throughout the match, McMaster was awarded a golden opportunity to open scoring in the 82nd minute when the Maroon and Grey earned a penalty kick.

And when Anthony Costa’s initial attempt from the spot was beautifully turned aside by the Gryphon keeper, Xhuti grabbed hold of the spotlight. The first-year Marauder ran alertly toward the spilled rebound and hammered it home off of the crossbar and into the gaping net.

Cue pandemonium on the Marauders’ bench and among the smattering of McMaster faithful present at Ron Joyce stadium.

For his part, an obviously jubilant Xhuti ripped off his jersey and sprinted across the pitch with his arms held aloft. The Maroon and Grey would double their advantage only a few minutes later, and seal passage to the OUA’s Final Four tournament in Ottawa in the process. But it was Xhuti’s emotional strike that made that progression a reality.

In the wake of that weekend victory, the young Marauder expressed his elation after scoring a goal of that magnitude.

“It was a great moment,” Xhuti said of the goal. “I had a vision that Costa would miss that penalty, I don’t know why. If you look at the video, I started running as soon as he hit the ball and I didn’t think about anything, I just smashed the ball into the net. It felt incredible afterwards.”

The quarterfinal tally provided yet another reminder of the Albanian’s immense contribution to McMaster’s campaign this year, a yearlong effort that saw Xhuti decorated by the OUA at the conclusion of the regular season.

The midfielder was named as a First Team OUA All-Star and was awarded the province’s Rookie of the Year honour in addition.

It all marks an incredible evolution for a player who found himself out of the sport a year ago.

After playing high-level club soccer with the CSL’s Milltown FC in Milton, Xhuti entered his freshman year at McMaster in 2010 as a member of the faculty of Engineering.

He had high hopes of pursuing his studies while playing soccer at the varsity level, but the demands of his degree convinced the young midfielder to put his Marauder dream on hold.

A year later, in full knowledge of what his program demanded of him, Xhuti returned to the Maroon and Grey. And the results could hardly be better.

The Albanian credits much of his success at the varsity level to the experience he gained in the CSL, where the young midfielder was pitted against grown men and full professionals on a weekly basis.

“The level in the CSL is very high,” said Xhuti. “Playing with older players and more experienced players was a great experience, and it really helped me to grow. There are a lot of players there who played professionally before, and now they’re retired and play there.”

One player in particular had a profound effect on the Marauder’s game, providing a mentor for the raw midfield talent.

“Milltown actually signed a Dutch player who had played in the third division in Holland and he was amazing by comparison to our level,” said Xhuti. “He was a left-footer too, so I tried to look up to him and emulate what he did.”

The baptism by fire that the midfielder received in the CSL has served him well in the OUA this season, but beyond the technical demands of the sport, it is Xhuti’s attitude toward the sport that aids him in maneuvering through the weekly demands of varsity competition.

“I just try to be calm in every game,” explained the midfielder. “I think of it as a lesson every time I play and it keeps building up and up. And here we are. The bottom line is that I try to do everything I can for the team.”

On the topic of the honours he most recently received, Xhuti indicates that he is thankful but that he will not rest on his laurels.

“I felt really good about it when I found out,” said the Marauder rookie of his awards. “But I want to become much better than I am. It’s something nice for right now, but my intentions are to move higher.”

Xhuti will have an opportunity to do just that this coming weekend, as he and his teammates compete at the OUA Final Four in Ottawa.

The tournament will see the Marauders confront a team they have yet to come up against this season in the form of the Carleton Ravens.

But Xhuti believes that unfamiliarity with their opponent will not be a problem for McMaster, and that the team must trust in the brand of soccer that has brought them success to this point.

“It is a bit different,” the midfielder said of the tournament. “Because we haven’t seen them play or played them at all. We’re just going to have to look forward to playing our own game. Up to now, everything’s been working great and so we’ll try to do that again.”

The Marauders’ semifinal test comes on Nov. 5 against the host Ravens.

 

 

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

 

The Marauders clinched a bye to the OUA quarterfinals in the most emphatic way possible this past weekend, dealing out convincing defeats to the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks.

In the final weekend of their conference season the Maroon and Grey welcomed the Warriors to Ron Joyce Stadium on Oct. 21, and reignited an offence that had abandoned them in Oshawa a week prior.

McMaster struck the first blow early in the contest, as sophomore striker Paterson Farrell headed home from close range off of a corner kick in the 6th minute. Waterloo remained resolute, and would add a tally of their own before the halftime whistle to tie the match 1-1 after the opening 45 minutes.

However, the Marauders were not to be denied the three points on the night, and regained the lead early in the second half after defender Garret McConville bulged the net with a drive from the edge of the box.

The hosts added an insurance marker in the 74th minute to effectively seal the result when veteran forward Daniel Niksic potted a headed effort of his own from another Marauder set piece. From there, McMaster was content to ride out the remaining minutes and clinch three valuable late-season points.

Two days later, the Marauders completed their regular season schedule with a Sunday afternoon clash with the Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo. The campaign-ending match proved to be a romp, as McMaster scored early and often and thoroughly dominated their hosts.

Midfield veteran Mark Reilly opened scoring in the very first minute, providing an ill omen for the Golden Hawks. Reilly would complete a hat trick by the 20th minute to put the Marauders ahead by a score of 3-0 at that early juncture.

McMaster’s scoring spree would continue into the second half, as rookie midfielder Nate Morris notched two goals within mere seconds of one another in the 66th and 67th minutes.

Paterson Farrell added his second tally of the weekend with a 75th minute strike to cap off a rampant day for the Maroon and Grey and clinch a final score of 6-2.

The weekend wins clinched the second position in the OUA West standings for the Marauders and handed them a first round playoff bye. The end result sees McMaster host a conference quarterfinal on Oct. 30 against the Windsor Lancers.

The Lancers earned a spot in that weekend matchup after upsetting the Western Mustangs in London on Oct. 26 by a 4-2 score line.

The Sunday night semifinal will get underway at 7:30 p.m. following the conclusion of the women’s semifinal also scheduled for that evening.

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

If the Marauders were looking for a nemesis, they seem to have found one in the unlikely form of the UOIT Ridgebacks.

Having held the high-powered offence of the Maroon and Grey off the score sheet earlier this season en route to a 0-0 draw, the OUA West doormats repeated the feat on their home turf on Oct. 16.

The result represented a sharp reversal of fortunes for the Marauders, who had handily beaten the Brock Badgers by a 5-0 score at Ron Joyce only two days prior.

The four points garnered over the course of the weekend maintained McMaster’s position in second place in the OUA West standings, and convinced CIS voters to move the Maroon and Grey up a spot to sixth in the national top ten.

But the Marauders are hardly happy to have managed only a single point against the OUA’s worst team for a second straight time.

Speaking in the wake of the weekend matches, team captain Anthony Costa argued that the Oct. 16 result was less a product of a lack of effort than a simple lack of a cutting edge in front of goal.

“It was unlucky,” Costa said of the result. “I mean, it’s the worst pitch in the league but there are no excuses, we still didn’t play our game. We had to vary from our possession style that we use well against teams.

“We had to play a little more direct and switch to a 4-4-2 for some more natural width and a couple of guys up front to try and finish. It wasn’t so much a matter of slack on our part. But it was too bad because it came after a nice 5-0 win at home. So those are points we would have loved to have.”

The UOIT draw reinforces the growing notion that the Marauders may unwittingly be tailoring their play to their opponents, as they famously played up to the level of the national champion York Lions, and have disastrously dropped their level of play against lesser opponents such as the Ridgebacks.

When asked whether he believed that his squad was guilty of playing down to the Oshawa-based team over the weekend, Costa suggests that results seem to speak for themselves.

“On a personal level, I know that I don’t, and it doesn’t seem like we do on the collective level,” said the captain. “But having said that, if we played up to York and came away with a victory, that’s the level that needs to be brought every time. If we can knock off the number one team in the country, why can’t we do that to everyone else?

“Sometimes it’s not that easy, because the ball doesn’t bounce your way. In our mindset I don’t think we play down to teams, but on the field sometimes maybe you relax and assume that you’ll score, and then the 90th minute rolls around and you haven’t.”

With the playoffs only two matches away, and the Marauders practically assured of a home quarterfinal, Costa is adamant that his squad needs only to maintain their current form and attitude to succeed.

“Things are looking up, and we’ve just got to stay sharp and keep our feet on the ground,” said the fifth-year senior. “Because if we play our game and think the way we have, then I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”

Costa and his teammates will have the opportunity to close their season in style this coming weekend, as they welcome the Waterloo Warriors to Ron Joyce Stadium on Oct. 21, before travelling to Laurier to take on the Golden Hawks in their final regular season tilt on Oct. 23.

The Friday night home contest will kick off at 8:15 p.m.

Brandon Meawasige

Assistant Sports Editor

Stepping onto the practice field Tuesday night, members of the McMaster men’s soccer team could be heard exclaiming “We’re ranked! We’re ranked!” among various other expletives and confident words.

The men are jubilant for good reason as well; the Marauders are the newest members of the 2011 CIS top ten national men’s soccer rankings, coming in at no. 7.

McMaster earned the honor after becoming the first team to defeat the defending national champion York Lions this season. The two teams faced off last Friday at Ron Joyce with the maroon and grey shutting out their heavyweight opponent 2-0.

"It was a great result, we worked hard preparing for the game, it was good to go out there and beat the best team in the country, we worked hard and it was good to show everyone in the OUA that we can compete at this level, it is good for us," fourth-year goalkeeper Matt Grant said this week at practice.

The Marauders not only physically outmatched the Lions, but mentally as well.

"We got a red card early, and it ended up being a scrappy game. They were getting frustrated; we out played them the whole game. I don't think they were expecting a close game from us, because they usually go out there with the confidence of being the best team in the country," said Grant.

The Marauders have gained a tremendous confidence from the York victory, and they tried to take that swagger to the field against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday at home.

Unfortunately, the game did not yield a result that would continue the jubilance. After 90 minutes of good soccer and a beautiful Guelph strike, the game ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw.

"Guelph was a missed opportunity for us to jump ahead in the standings, which are very close. First and third place are separated by four points,” said Grant.

The Marauders may even be further ahead in the standings if not for a mid season draw with the University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks. However during that game McMaster was missing some key players including team Captain Anthony Costa, who scored against York, surely contributing to the 0 - 0 draw.

After that game, Costa offered a prediction for the upcoming trip to Oshawa to play an away game at UOIT. Surely looking to send a message, Costa shared his feelings on the upcoming rematch.

“I’ll say this, when we go over there, it is going to be a completely different story,” Costa warned.

With only four games remaining on the schedule against traditionally softer opponents, Costa and the rest of the team have a chance to solidify themselves atop the OUA West and possibly even climb the National rankings.

"It’s great to be nationally ranked through the middle of the season. It’s a great feeling. We’ll be looking to continue to climb the rankings and prove to the country that were not a one-trick pony," said Grant.

Although the triumph marks large step in the right direction, beating the defending national champions during the season is different from a national championship.

The fact of a win like that however, is now the team carries with it the expectations that come with entering the picture as a national powerhouse.

Whether the team can live up to the bar they have set for themselves is a completely different story. One that will continue to write itself as the regular season concludes and the daring road to the championship begins. Playing each of the remaining teams once earlier in the season, the Marauders have scored 13 goals allowing only one in those four games.

Up next for McMaster are the Brock Badgers whom they will host this Friday, Oct. 14 at Ron Joyce Stadium. Last time the two teams faced off in St. Catharines, the Marauders looked like a championship contender, winning 4-1.