Condors qualify for Soccer Provincials
Conestoga Men's Soccer Advance to Provincial Championships
The Conestoga men's soccer team advanced to Provincial Championships for the second consecutive year. The Condor's finished the day with a 3-1-0 record as they finished second in their group one point behind the Fanshawe Falcons.
The Condor's were exceptional in the first game defeating Saint Laurence College 9-0. Due to OCAA rules, the official score of the match was 6-0. Osman Osmansoy started the goal parade with a strike into the bottom corner after beating an SLC defender. He finished the game with 2 goals. Conestoga showed their scoring diversity as there were 7 different scorers in this game. Andrew Mackie also chipped in with 2 goals. Malachi Ramsay, Sal Salazar, Zach Gingerich, and Zack Govia also chipped in with goals of their own.
Condors vs Falcons
The second game did not turn out well for the Men's team, as they were defeated by the Fanshawe Falcons 4-0. Fanshawe was awarded a penalty kick within the first 5 minutes of play as Conestoga's goalie, Ian Anderson-Mckenzie tripped up the Fanshawe attacker. Fanshawe slotted the penalty into the corner and the Condor's couldn't recover, suffering the defeat.
Condors vs Lords
Conestoga knew they had to finish their final two matchups with victories in order to advance to the Provincial championships. They face Durham College who was also looking to stay alive with a victory. The matchup was intense from start to finish as both teams were extremely defensive to start the game. Durham opened the scoring at the 9-minute mark when the Condors were caught defensively and allowed a breakaway goal. 5 minutes later the Condor's scored the equalizer on a bullet shot from outside the box from Reza Ullah. Both teams went into the half with only one thing on their mind, a victory. As a tie would do neither team a favour and be detrimental towards their Provincial hopes. The Condors came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. They had chance after chance but just couldn't seem to find the back of the net until Ramsay willed a ball through the goalie's hands on a three on one break for the Condors. The shot at the 33-minute mark was the deciding goal as the Condors held on to win their second game of the day, 2-1.
The final fixture of the day happened to be between the two teams fighting for the final spot in the Provincial championships, as Fanshawe had secured their place in the final stage with 10 points in 4 games. Both Georgian and Conestoga had a 2-1-0 record to this point in the tournament. The Condors needed to win the game to advance, as Georgian had the tie-breaker with a better goal differential.
Condors vs Grizzlies
The final match up of the day was a thriller. The Georgian Grizzlies knew they needed just a tie to advance, they started the game extremely defensive. The Condors had no space in the first half until Salazar received the ball inside the box, cut the ball by the goaltender, and was pummeled over by a Grizzly defender. A penalty kick was awarded by the referee, a break the Condors were looking for. Coach Peter Mackie yelled at first year player Govia to take the kick. Govia's kick was denied by the Georgian Grizzly netminder as he made a sprawling save and kicked the ball out of bounds. There was no panic on the Condor's side, as they went into halftime with a 0-0 draw.
The Grizzles game plan was effective up until the 28th minute. When a foul was called against the Grizzlies and the referee asked the Grizzlies player to back away from the ball, the Condors took a quick free kick and the player close to the ball blocked it without moving back and was sent off with a two-minute blue card penalty. Conestoga knew this was their most opportune time, 4v5 for two minutes. The Condors worked the ball around the opposing net, controlling the ball, waiting for an opportunity at a shot on net. The ball was played into Govia's feet in the 8-yard box. With a one touch pass laid it off to first year player Liam Dowling, who thumped the ball off the post and into the back of the net with the game's first goal. This is exactly what the Condor's needed, as they have been confident with their defence the entire day. With five minutes left in the game, Ramsay had the ball in the Condor's end looking for something on offence. The Condor's most experienced player Osmansoy made a full dash down the left wing as Ramsay played an inch perfect ball over the last defender right onto Osmansoy's foot. In full stride his first touch was played past the goaltender to the right and slotted the ball into the net to secure the victory for the Condor's and advance them to the Provincial Championships with a 2-0 victory.
What's next?
Both the men and women's indoor soccer teams for Conestoga qualified for the Provincial championships that are held at the OSA soccer centre in Vaughan on March 21-22. Stay tuned on our social media pages @cc_condors on Instagram and Twitter for updates.