The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's soccer teams are set to battle squads from the nation's capital in the Carleton Ravens and Ottawa Gee-Gees this weekend (Sept. 8-9) at Varsity Stadium.
 
The Blues women have experienced a great start to the 2018 season. They're currently undefeated at 2-0-1, siting in second place in the OUA East division. U of T is coming off an impressive 2-0 victory over the Ryerson Rams last Sunday.
 
Toronto relies on their structure and defence to beat opponents. Third-year goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis is an anchor for the team. The kinesiology major has posted at least five saves in all matches and her .900 save percentage is third best in the province.
 
Fourth-year striker Natasha Klasios continues to be the difference marker throughout her career. She posted a goal and an assist in the victory over Ryerson. The ecology and global health major co-leads the team with second-year mid-fielder Kristin Parkes with two goals.
 
The Blues battle the Ravens on Saturday before they face top tier competition against the No. 7 Ottawa Gee-Gees on Sunday. Both games are set to begin at 1 p.m., and will be streamed live on OUA.tv.
 
Carleton is one of the youngest team's in the OUA, with 22 of the 29 women on the roster in either their first or second year. What they lack in offence, only registering three goals in four matches, they make up with their defence, only surrendering five goals in four matches.
 
Ottawa has been a consistent threat in the OUA. They've finished in the top three the previous four years, while never losing more than three games in a season. It's no different to start 2018 with the team holding the best record in the OUA at 3-0-1. Ottawa is an offensive juggernaut, outscoring opponents 14 - 2.
 
Meanwhile, the Varsity Blues men's team look to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to the No. 4 Rams. It doesn't get any easier on Saturday, when they line up against the undefeated No. 5 Ravens (4-0-0) at 3:15 p.m ,in their lone match over the weekend.
 
Carleton and Toronto are very familiar with one another. For the past four year, the two rivals finished in the top four of the OUA East division. During that span, their head-to-head record stands at 3-3-4 with only one game being decided by more than one goal. Both teams are tactical and structured under their respected head coaches Anthony Capotosto (U of T) and Kewsi Loney (Carleton).
 
Fourth-year forward Jae Jin Lee and second-year midfielder Anthony Sousa have been relied upon to jump start the offence. The two players co-lead the team with three goals. Even though, the defence suffered three goals last Sunday, they still stand as one of the best units in the province.
 
Finally, watch out for the men to get off to a quick start. They have opened the scoring in all four of their matches this season, twice scoring in the first minute of the match.

HOME EVENTS THIS WEEK: 

DATE	SPORT	OPPONENT	LOCATION	TIME/RESULT	MEDIA
9/8/2018	Men's Tennis	vs University of Waterloo	University of Toronto Scarborough Campus	11:30 a.m.
9/8/2018	Women's Tennis	vs University of Waterloo	University of Toronto Scarborough Campus	11:30 a.m.
9/8/2018	Baseball	vs Queen's University (DH)	Dan Lang Field	12:00 p.m.
9/8/2018	Women's Soccer	vs Carleton University	Varsity Centre	1:00 p.m.	Live Video Live Stats
9/8/2018	Softball	vs McMaster University (DH)	Dieppe Park	2:00 p.m.
9/8/2018	Men's Soccer	vs Carleton University	Varsity Centre	3:15 p.m.	Live Video Live Stats
9/8/2018	Baseball	vs Queen's University (DH)	Dan Lang Field	3:30 p.m.
9/8/2018	Softball	vs McMaster University (DH)	Dieppe Park	4:00 p.m.
9/9/2018	Softball	vs Brock University (DH)	Hendon Park	11:00 a.m.
9/9/2018	Women's Tennis	vs York University	University of Toronto Scarborough Campus	11:30 a.m.
9/9/2018	Men's Tennis	vs York University	University of Toronto Scarborough Campus	11:30 a.m.
9/9/2018	Softball	vs Brock University (DH)	Hendon Park	1:00 p.m.
9/9/2018	Women's Soccer	vs University of Ottawa	Varsity Centre	1:00 p.m.	Live Video Live Stats
9/9/2018	Men's Rugby	vs Royal Military College of Canada	Varsity Centre	5:00 p.m.

AWAY EVENTS THIS WEEK: 

DATE	SPORT	OPPONENT	LOCATION	TIME/RESULT	MEDIA
9/4/2018	Women's Basketball	at X-Pordenone Basket Club	Pordenone, Italy	W 70-51
9/7/2018	Men's Lacrosse	at Wilfrid Laurier University	Waterloo, Ontario	8:00 p.m.
9/7/2018	Women's Basketball	at X-TBD	Florence, Italy	TBD
9/8/2018	Football	at Queen's University	Richardson Stadium  Kingston, Ontario	1:00 p.m.	Live Video Live Stats
9/9/2018	Women's Rugby	at University of Waterloo	Waterloo, Ontario	12:00 p.m.
9/9/2018	Women's Lacrosse	vs Laurier	Kingston, Ontario	9:45 a.m.
9/9/2018	Mountain Biking	University Cup #1	Albion Hills	11:00 a.m.
9/9/2018	Women's Lacrosse	vs Guelph	Kingston, Ontario	1:15 p.m.

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit www.varsityblues.ca. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat and Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.
 
 
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