TORONTO (CIS) – The McMaster University Marauders rolled to a dominant 4-1 victory over the Cape Breton University Capers on Saturday evening to finish in fifth place at the 2015 CIS men's soccer national championship at York Stadium in Toronto.
McMaster held possession for the majority of the contest and had many more scoring chances than the Capers. The OUA silver medallists outshot their counterparts from Nova Scotia 16-6, including 11-3 in the first half.
"It's nice to end with a win," said fifth-year goalkeeper Angelo Cavalluzzo of Hamilton, who suited up for his final time with the Marauders and earned the win in net. "There are eight of us in our last year here so it feels good, especially in such resounding fashion. In our first nationals we came here and lost 2-1 to Cape Breton, so to come out here and beat them 4-1 shows how far the program has come in the last five years."
The Marauders were all over the Capers early, beginning with a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box only two minutes into the contest. But Cape Breton goalkeeper Scott Shewfelt of London, Ont., was there to make the save and he was called into action again just four minutes later, making another big save on Ross Genovese of Hamilton.
The rest of the first half played out in similar fashion as the Marauders continued to press for a goal, while the Capers were unable to get much past McMaster's defensive line.
The floodgates finally opened in the 44th minute. Marco Gennacarro of Hamilton centred a pass into the box and Karl Bicamumpaka of Orleans, Ont., made no mistake, redirecting the ball past Shewfelt, who anticipated the play incorrectly and dove the wrong way.
One minute later it was Gennacarro again, this time bringing the ball up the wing and finding the back of the net himself for a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Capers emerged from the break with more momentum and were rewarded for their strong play with a goal by Sandro Rajkovic of Hamilton to cut the lead to 2-1. However, that was as close as they would get as the Marauders continued to stymie the Capers. The lack of chances started to frustrate Cape Breton, and they proceeded to take a series of fouls that led to three yellow cards in one five-minute stretch and five overall in the match.
As they did in the first half, the Marauders netted a pair of goals in rapid succession to put the game away. Genovese was the first to tally, scoring in the 80th minute to restore his team's two-goal advantage. Less than one minute later, Kody Kazda of Carleton Place, Ont., took his turn with a goal of his own to round out the scoring.
Defender Nic Vecchi of Niagara Falls, Ont., earned the player of the match award for McMaster, while Rajkovic was selected for the honour for the Capers.
SCORING SUMMARY:
MAC 2-2: 4
CBU 0-1: 1
First Half
1. MAC Karl Bicamumpaka (1), 44th minute
2. MAC Marco Gennaccaro (1), 45th
Second Half
3. CBU Sandro Rajkovic (1), 49th
4. MAC Ross Genovese (1), 80th
5. MAC Kody Kazda (1) 81st
Goalkeepers:
MAC: Angelo Cavalluzzo (W, 1 GA, 0 saves, 87:00, 1-1)
MAC: Kieran Doyle-Davis (0 GA, 0 saves, 3:00, 1-0)
CBU: Scott Shewfelt (L, 2 GA, 2 saves, 45:00, 1-2)
CBU: Brandon Senneck (2 GA, 2 saves, 45:00, 0-0)
Team Stats
Shots: MAC 16, CBU 6
Shots on net: MAC 4, CBU 1
Corners: MAC 4, CBU 1
Fouls: MAC 10, CBU 9
Yellow cards: MAC (Nic Vecchi), CBU (Justin Maheu, Sandro Rajkovic, Robson Doolan, Mark Bloxam, Joel Eckert-Ayensa)
Red cards: None
Players of the game:
MAC Nic Vecchi
CBU Sandro Rajkovic
SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Thursday, Nov. 12
11:00 Quarter-final 1: UQAM 2, McMaster 1 (4-3 kicks)
13:30 Quarter-final 2: UNB 3, Victoria 2
16:00 Quarter-final 3: UBC 3, Toronto 0
19:00 Quarter-final 4: York 4, Cape Breton 1
Friday, Nov. 13
11:00 Consolation 1: McMaster 2, Victoria 1
13:30 Consolation 2: Cape Breton 3, Toronto, 0
Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 Semifinal 1: UNB 3, UQAM 2 (OT)
13:30 Semifinal 2: YOR 1, UBC 0 (5-4 kicks)
16:00 5th-place game: McMaster 4, Cape Breton 1
Sunday, Nov. 15
11:00 Bronze medal: UQAM vs. UBC (CIS-SIC.tv)
14:00 Championship final: UNB vs. York (CIS-SIC.tv)