MSOC | Voyageurs Shut-Out by Varsity Blues
On Sunday October 16th 2016, the Laurentian Voyageurs Men’s Soccer team took on the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Despite the great conditions and home field advantage, the Voyageurs were unable to take down the Varsity Blues, losing 4-0.
The game proved to be an incredibly rough and physical game, with #15 Jamal Smith-Joseph of the Voyageurs being taken down by an injury within the first few minutes of play. This would be the first of many injuries throughout the game for both teams. Despite being taken off, Smith-Joseph was back on the field quickly and the Voyageurs focused their efforts on blocking the Blues’ powerful plays. Laurentian and Toronto were evenly matched for the first half, with lots of back and forth between both ends. A controversial yellow card was given to Dean Pizolinas after a collision with the Varsity Blues’ goalie. Throughout the half, the Voyageurs made many attempts to score but were consistently blocked out. Despite the lack of scoring in the first half, the crowd remained enthusiastic and vocal in their support of the Voyageurs. Laurentian continued to communicate well and ended the first half with the score at 0-0.
Going into the second half, the Vees upped the pressure but faced some tough calls as both Nick Franke and John Hick of the Voyageurs were awarded yellow cards. After a penalty kick and another goal awarded to the Varsity Blues, the score was 2-0 for Toronto. The Varsity Blues’ defense was too tight for the Voyageurs to break through, despite many attempts. Toronto scored again, increasing their lead on Laurentian to 3-0. After a second penalty kick for the Blues’ the score was 4-0. An upsetting game for fans and players alike, the Voyageurs lost 4-0 as time ran out at the end of the second half.
The Voyageurs will be back in action next weekend as they take on RMC at 2:15pm at Laurentian, looking to secure a home playoff game. Keep up to date with all things Laurentian Voyageurs at www.luvoyageurs.com or follow @LUVoyageurs on Twitter.
Rebecca Dale
Sports Writer