The Varsity Blues men’s soccer team defeated the Trent Excaliburs 3–2 at Varsity Stadium in a cold, wind stricken match.
U of T quickly established dominance, with an outstanding goal from first-year striker Adrian Dannel in the first five minutes of the match. Dannel got past the Trent defence with his speed and stellar footwork, riffling the shot into the back of the net.
A free kick by Trent’s Devon Coutu tied the game as the teams headed into halftime.
The game swung in both directions as the two teams strived for goals and domination of the match.
Mario Kovacevic scored for the Blues in the 50th minute of the game, from a pass by Dannel.
U of T allowed several potential scoring opportunites to slide past them, including an offside shot by Kovacevic. The third Blues third goal came in the second half from the foot of Killian Elkinson, with an assist by Dylan Bams, giving Toronto a strong 3–1 lead.
Despite falling behind, Trent continued to fight and were rewarded for their persistence with a late header from Joey Azzarello scored that was just beyond the reach of Toronto goalkeeper Anthony Spanopulos, who otherwise had a strong game.
The Blues next match is on September 23 when they will face the Ryerson Rams The victory over the Trent Excaliburs brought the Blues record back to .500, and the team remains confident that they can continue their recent success.
“I’m not worried,” said Kovacevic. “As long as we keep playing like we did in the second half we’ll do well.”
Coach Jon Mondino expressed similar sentiments,“I feel good about today’s game. A few key players have to step up, but we’re satisfied with the team effort today.”
Kovacevic is cautiously confident. “We still have seven to eight games to go. We started the season slow, but if we keep playing this way we’ll be good.”
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