Ridgebacks foil Marauders again

Tyler Hayward / Senior Photo Editor

Fraser Caldwell

Sports Editor

If the Marauders were looking for a nemesis, they seem to have found one in the unlikely form of the UOIT Ridgebacks.

Having held the high-powered offence of the Maroon and Grey off the score sheet earlier this season en route to a 0-0 draw, the OUA West doormats repeated the feat on their home turf on Oct. 16.

The result represented a sharp reversal of fortunes for the Marauders, who had handily beaten the Brock Badgers by a 5-0 score at Ron Joyce only two days prior.

The four points garnered over the course of the weekend maintained McMaster’s position in second place in the OUA West standings, and convinced CIS voters to move the Maroon and Grey up a spot to sixth in the national top ten.

But the Marauders are hardly happy to have managed only a single point against the OUA’s worst team for a second straight time.

Speaking in the wake of the weekend matches, team captain Anthony Costa argued that the Oct. 16 result was less a product of a lack of effort than a simple lack of a cutting edge in front of goal.

“It was unlucky,” Costa said of the result. “I mean, it’s the worst pitch in the league but there are no excuses, we still didn’t play our game. We had to vary from our possession style that we use well against teams.

“We had to play a little more direct and switch to a 4-4-2 for some more natural width and a couple of guys up front to try and finish. It wasn’t so much a matter of slack on our part. But it was too bad because it came after a nice 5-0 win at home. So those are points we would have loved to have.”

The UOIT draw reinforces the growing notion that the Marauders may unwittingly be tailoring their play to their opponents, as they famously played up to the level of the national champion York Lions, and have disastrously dropped their level of play against lesser opponents such as the Ridgebacks.

When asked whether he believed that his squad was guilty of playing down to the Oshawa-based team over the weekend, Costa suggests that results seem to speak for themselves.

“On a personal level, I know that I don’t, and it doesn’t seem like we do on the collective level,” said the captain. “But having said that, if we played up to York and came away with a victory, that’s the level that needs to be brought every time. If we can knock off the number one team in the country, why can’t we do that to everyone else?

“Sometimes it’s not that easy, because the ball doesn’t bounce your way. In our mindset I don’t think we play down to teams, but on the field sometimes maybe you relax and assume that you’ll score, and then the 90th minute rolls around and you haven’t.”

With the playoffs only two matches away, and the Marauders practically assured of a home quarterfinal, Costa is adamant that his squad needs only to maintain their current form and attitude to succeed.

“Things are looking up, and we’ve just got to stay sharp and keep our feet on the ground,” said the fifth-year senior. “Because if we play our game and think the way we have, then I don’t think we’ll have a problem.”

Costa and his teammates will have the opportunity to close their season in style this coming weekend, as they welcome the Waterloo Warriors to Ron Joyce Stadium on Oct. 21, before travelling to Laurier to take on the Golden Hawks in their final regular season tilt on Oct. 23.

The Friday night home contest will kick off at 8:15 p.m.