The No. 9 Varsity Blues men’s soccer team shut out the Ryerson Rams 4-0 on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 16) at Varsity Centre.

With the win, the Blues are tied with the Rams for second place with a game in hand.

Second-year striker Mario Kovacevic of Woodbridge, Ont., recorded his first career hat trick in the win. 

The Blues dominated the contest from the opening whistle onward, earning consecutive corner kicks and putting the Ryerson defence under pressure from the get-go.

As he did in the first meeting between the two teams back in September, Kovacevic tallied the contest's first goal in the 20th minute, heading the ball past Aaryon Gaeeni to put the Blues up 1-0.

Although Toronto had to deal with two injuries early in the fame, one to their captain Darragh McGee and the other to starting keeper John Smits that forced substitutions for both players, the Blues continued pounding the Rams defence looking to pad the lead before halftime.

They would be rewarded in the 43rd minute when sophomore midfielder Ezequiel Lubocki was left uncovered on the right side of the goal. The Winnipeg native had an easy tap-in to widen the Toronto lead to 2-0 going into halftime.

The Blues didn't miss a beat in the second, as Kovacevic put Toronto up by three in the 60th minute after one-timing a low pass from Geoff Borgmann (Mississauga) underneath Gaeeni.

He would complete the hat-trick in the 66th minute with a goal assisted by Ryan Sciacchitano. 

The Varsity Blues return to the field this Wednesday, September 19 as they host the Trent Excalibur in their last regular season home game.  Game time is set for 8:30 p.m.

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