The Carleton Ravens men’s soccer team scored early and often on Saturday against the Trent Excalibur as the team soared to a 6-0 win.
It was a special day at the pitch for Carleton’s Scott Mazzotta (Ottawa, Ont.). After he opened the scoring in the 8th minute off a Sean Kim (Richmond Hill, Ont.) cross, Mazzotta added his second goal in as many minutes to put the Ravens up 2-0. Just two minutes after that, Mazzotta found the back of the net for the third time, scoring his three goals less than five minutes apart.
By the 11th minute, Carleton had a 3-0 lead.
“What was really great was that [Mazzotta] was able to score three goals in three different ways. This is a player with a lot of confidence right now,” head coach Kwesi Loney said after the match.
Carleton continued their dominance throughout the rest of the half. The Ravens had a chance in the closing stages of the half from Moses Kafeero (Ottawa, Ont.) as he fired a shot in the box that rolled just wide of the net.
Just on the cusp of halftime, Luca Piccioli (Ottawa, Ont.) scored a free kick to put the Ravens up 4-0 at the break.
Carleton midfielder Zaccaria Louardi (Lyon, Fra.) came into the game off the bench in the second half to make his Raven debut. Louardi was added to the roster just days before this match and hopes to feature in Carleton’s upcoming playoff run.
The Ravens defended well in front of goalkeeper Roberto Frankovic (Ottawa, Ont.) who came on in the second half, making his third appearance of the year.
Mandela Singh-Sharpe (Ottawa, Ont.) buried a 63rd minute freekick to put the Ravens up 5-0, making it two set-piece goals for Carleton on the afternoon. Devyn Viegas (Ottawa, Ont.) would head one home for the Ravens with the last kick of the game to finish this one off at 6-0 Carleton.
With the win, Carleton finishes third in the OUA-East and will host a first-round playoff matchup against the Queen’s Gaels. Carleton and Queen’s met on the opening day of the 2022 regular season, when the Ravens won 3-1 on the road.
Carleton wraps up their 2022 regular season tomorrow at TAAG Park as they take on the TMU Bold at 3:15 p.m. Both teams are ranked inside the Top 10 in U Sports, and TMU has won eight-straight since losing 3-0 to Carleton back on Sept. 24.
