Men’s Soccer News

Welcome to Monday Morning Quarterback, a regular look at all the best U SPORTS stories from the weekend.

Carabins down Rouge et Or, Ridgebacks run, X-Women dominate, and Ravens soar

Football

Montreal knocks off Laval

The Laval Rouge et Or won last year’s Vanier Cup, their ninth in program history. They entered this season in a strong place as well, beating the Sherbrooke Vert et Or 40-5 in Week 1 and the McGill Redmen 50-14 in Week 2 and being unanimously voted to the top spot in the first two U SPORTS Top 10 polls. But they took a fall Saturday, losing 21-16 on the road against the Montreal Carabins.

Boxscore

The Carabins were second in both of those polls, so this isn’t a huge upset, but it’s one that suggests these RSEQ rivals will once again be battling hard for top spot this year. Montreal quarterback Samuel Caron had a particularly strong day, completing 27 of 40 passes for 377 yards and a touchdown, rushing 11 times for 42 yards and another touchdown, and outdueling Laval’s Hugo Richard (28 for 40, 318 yards, one touchdown and one interception). Through two games, Caron is averaging 357.5 passing yards per game, good for third in the country. He’ll be a player to watch this year.

Full results: U SPORTS Men's football Schedule 2017

 

Women’s soccer

UOIT improves to 5-0

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks finished third at last year’s national championships, and they’re off to a strong start again this year. They were ranked second in the country after winning their first three games, and continued their run this weekend with a 2-0 win over the Ryerson Rams and a 3-1 win over the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Taijah Henderson led the way with a goal against the Rams and a goal and an assist against the Varsity Blues. She has four goals this year, tied for second nationally.

Results: 2017-18 U SPORTS Women's Soccer Schedule

Women's rugby

Thank you, to all who tuned in to watch our season opener last night!

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StFX starts title defence with 105-0 win

The St. Francis Xavier X-Women won every game they played last year and claimed their fifth national title, and they started this regular season with a bang, downing the Saint Mary’s Huskies 105-0. Sara McCarron and June Beals led the way with three tries apiece. The X-Women look to once again be a tough team to beat.

Full results: U SPORTS Women's Rugby Schedule 2017

Men's soccer

Carleton’s dynamic duo continue their run

It’s unusual to see two teammates near the top of the national goal-scoring rankings, but Gabriel Bitar and Stefan Karajovanovic of the Carleton Ravens have managed that. Through Saturday’s games, both had five goals, tied for second nationally behind only the Guelph Gryphons’ Jace Kotsopoulos (7). In Saturday’s 3-0 road win over the Queen’s Gaels, Karajovanovic had a goal and an assist and Bitar had a goal. In Sunday’s 7-1 win over the Royal Military College Paladins, Bitar had a goal and an assist and Karajovanovic had two goals, moving him into a tie for first nationally with Kotsopoulos (who was held scoreless in Guelph’s 4-2 loss to the McMaster Marauders). Oh, and Carleton teammate Jimi Aribido had a hat trick Sunday, so he may catch up to the Ravens’ dynamic duo soon.

Full results: U SPORTS men's soccer schedule 2017

                   

profile_1.png (74 KB)Andrew has been covering university sports in Canada since 2005 at outlets such as The Queen's Journal, The CIS Blog, and Yahoo Canada, where he also served as the editor of the Canadian football blog 55-Yard Line. He has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree from Queen's University with a major in history, and currently works as a staff writer and editor for Awful Announcing and The Comeback.