Oshawa’s OTU Ridgebacks suffer first loss, fall to ninth in national men’s soccer rankings
Published September 27, 2022 at 4:33 pm
York Lions are back on top of the U SPORTS soccer rankings, while Oshawa’s Ontario Tech Ridgebacks suffered their first loss of the season to fall three places to number nine in the national rankings.
No. 8 Guelph Gryphons became the first team to take points off York with a 2-2 draw in Guelph but they also dropped three places in the rankings after losing the re-match Sunday in Toronto, 2-1.
Post-tropical storm Fiona curbed AUS action leaving the No. 2 Cape Breton Capers and No. 6 St.FX X-Men with sets of postponed matches. No. 3 Carleton Ravens took down No. 10 Toronto Metropolitan Bold 3-0 at Downsview Park in Toronto, followed by a scoreless draw against the unranked U of T Varsity Blues on Sunday.
No. 4 Mount Royal Cougars sits unchanged following a 1-1 road draw during UBC Okanagan’s Homecoming weekend and 1-0 road victory over Victoria Vikings.
After back-to-back shutout victories, No. 5 Montreal Carabins jumped two spots over Ontario Tech (5-1), who dropped to No. 9 following a 1-0 loss to the No. 10 TMU Bold.
No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (5-2-0) enter the rankings after defeating the Saskatchewan Huskies 4-0 at Thunderbird Stadium.
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In a battle of nationally ranked men’s soccer teams, the TMU Bold came out on top on Sunday afternoon, 1-0 over the Ridgebacks.
The sixth-ranked Ridgebacks had won the first meeting of the year 2-1 in Oshawa, but the No. 10 ranked Bold got revenge on their home turf in Toronto with Faisal Ghaffur’s 58th minute goal being the difference maker in the match.
Kevon Grant made five saves in the loss, the first of the regular season for Ontario Tech (who entered Sunday with a 5-0-0 record) and the first blemish since a 1-0 pre-season loss to top-ranked York.
Next up, the Ridgebacks return home to host the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, October 1. Dog Day at Vaso’s Field will have a special foam paw giveaways.
At all remaining home games, the Dogs of Ontario Tech Soccer calendars will continue to be on sale in support of the Humane Society of Durham Region, plus the 2200 North BBQ will be open. Fans buying beverages at the BBQ will also get a special edition Ridgebacks stadium cup with each purchase.
Ridgeback midfielder Trivine Esprit shared Ontario Tech Athlete of the Week honours with lacrosse player Caitlyn Cote.
