Marauder Sports Roundup: September 25
[photo credit: Maxine Gravina]
Football, soccer, cross country, oh my! That can only mean one thing; it’s been another great week of McMaster Marauder sporting events! And that one thing can only mean one thing: it’s time to talk about them!
Side Note: If you are craving more Mac sports, Marauder Morning is on-air 9am ET every Monday and is podcasted on this very website for your convenience. Check out the episode that aired this Monday for an interview with Mac football’s starting Centre, Paul Battilana.
Football Dominant in All Phases in Home Win
With its 47-19 win over Windsor on Saturday, the Marauder football squad was guaranteed no worse than a .500 season. If you’re a long-time Mac football fan, though, you’re probably not that impressed. Mac has hit .500 or better every year since 1997, back when Titanic was rewriting box office records and Hanson was still delivering smash hits. While we’re talking records, it’s worth noting that the Marauders have been historically dominant against Windsor, rocking a 11-0 record against them going back to 2006. Stefan Ptaszek is 8-0 vs Windsor as McMaster Head Coach.
It was bombs away on offense as emerging star Quarterback Andreas Dueck lead a high-flying offense that hung 556 total yards on the Lancers. That number includes the 389 yards that Dueck added through the air, a career high for him, and kept the ball away from Windsor with no turnovers on the day. The Mac receivers had a sluggish start to the game, but made up for it with some spectacular play. Tommy Nield and Tyson Middlemost were both over 100 yards receiving, and both caught beautiful 70+ yard passes from Dueck. Xander Tachinski added 89 yards and a score. Not to be outshone by the air attack, the running game posted a 167-yard day with the help of dynamic backfield duo Jordan Lyons (45 yards, TD) and Justice Allin (59 yards, rec. TD). The eye-popping stat of the day was 9.3 yards per carry for Mac which shows just how dominant the O-line was in this one; 0 sacks and 0 tackles for loss allowed, another fantastic outing for the lineman. 47 points is pretty dang good, especially when you consider that Mac had 3 scores called back for penalties. Those kinds of slips can really sink a game for a team, but the Marauders kept their composure and held steady.
The defensive unit was similarly fantastic on Saturday, allowing just one offensive score all day. This marks the fourth time this season that Mac has held its opponent to 7 or less on offense, and unsurprisingly they are 4-0 in those games. The defensive line and linebackers were the stars of the show, led by DT Donovan Glave’s outstanding performance (1 sack, 1 TFL). They were getting into the Windsor backfield on a consistent basis, busting up plays before they began. In kicker news, Kicker Adam Preocanin broke a tie he held with former Marauder kicker Derek Livingstone for fourth on the McMaster all-time points list.
With Guelph losing to Western on the weekend, McMaster now has sole hold of second place in the OUA at 4-1 behind Western as they head into the bye-week.
Woman’s Soccer Wins Clean on Friendly Turf
After a tough 2-0 loss at the hands of the Brock Badgers, the Mac women’s team was able to flip the script and knock out a 2-0 win of their own against Laurier on Sunday afternoon. Goals were scored by Stephanie Roberts (10’) and Talia Merino-Sierra assisted by Hannah Chau-Stacey (55’). The goalkeeping was especially strong, holding a very efficient Laurier offense without a goal. Mac managed to keep out of penalty trouble and only had one yellow card on the day. The Mac ladies are sitting even at 3-3 on the year headed into their game next week at Western.
Men’s Soccer Stalemates Laurier
If ever there was an even matchup, this was it. McMaster and Laurier were locked in a dead heat for all 90 minutes of their match on Sunday at Ron Joyce Stadium. It was almost 60 minutes into play before Laurier scored the first goal of the game. Marauder’s Anand Sergeant answered back less than 4 minutes later with a goal of his own to tie the game up at one, and there the score sat for the rest of the game. It was another foul-heavy game for Mac, posting 12 penalties and 2 yellow cards. Penalties really threw a wrench in an otherwise very winnable game for the Marauders. The men’s team now sits at 2-2-2 for the season.
Cross Country Stands Out Against Top Competition
The cross-country team was out in London (the close one) Saturday to compete at the 2019 Bill Salter International hosted by Western. Mac runners competed in two events, Women’s 6k and Men’s 8k. The Mac women's team finished fifth overall. Caroline Forbes was their top runner, posting a time of 23:09 en route to a 16th place individual finish. Despite that excellent finish, they will have to share the spotlight with the men’s team who finished top of the pile (that’s first!). Max Turek, Alex Drover, and Andrew Davies all finished in the top 10 individually in a field of 163 runners.
Duncan Simmons is the CFMU Sports Director and a 3rd year communications studies student from Vancouver, BC. Lover of all sports and all sports fans. Contact him at: cfmusport@msu.mcmaster.ca.