The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer team fell 2-1 to the TMU Bold in their season opener on Saturday (Aug. 29) afternoon at Varsity Stadium.
Getting off to a quick start to the season, the Blues found the back of the next in the 13
th minute. Attacking from the wing, first-year forward Michael Maslanka found a streaking third-year forward Niklas Hallam, setting up the Victoria native with a through-ball that he got his right foot on to send the ball into the back of the net. The Blues continued to generate scoring chances as they kept their strong form as they looked to extend their lead.Â
The Bold managed to regroup and score two goals before the end of the half. Dennis Liu netted the equalizer in the 38
th minute and TMU managed to keep momentum on their side going into halftime, taking the lead as Darius Kerr Cooper netted his first goal of the season in the 45
th minute.
Trailing for the first time in the match, the Blues looked for an equalizer in the final 45 minutes of play. Scoring chances were generated at both ends of the pitch but TMU's Dante Ferraro and second-year Blues keeper Shane Perera were up to the task. Keeping the Blue and White in the game late, a diving Perera stopped a quality scoring chance from TMU, knocking the ball outside to keep the one-goal score unchanged. The Blues continued to push the ball up the field in search of a game-tying goal but they were unable to find the back of the net before the final whistle, falling 2-1 in their season opener.
U of T's three-game home stand continues as they'll look ahead to Saturday (Sept. 5) afternoon when they host the Queen's Gaels at Varsity Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 2:15 p.m., with tickets available at
varsityblues.ca/tickets. The game will also be live streamed on
oua.tv.
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