CIS WRAP: UBC, Ryerson look to remain at top of the men’s rankings

The defending CIS champs from the University of British Columbia will likely hold onto the No. 1 overall ranking for the next two weeks. The Thunderbirds extended their winning streak to 10 games in Canada West play with a 2-0 win Friday over the University of Winnipeg and a 3-0 win Saturday over Mount Royal. Since a shock loss to the University of the Fraser Valley in the second game of the season, the T-Birds have soared, going 10-0-0 and outscoring opponents by a 35-6 count. The Thunderbirds now look like overwhelming favourites to repeat as national champs — and history may show that the loss to UFV was exactly what UBC needed. After an undefeated campaign in 2012, it was a reminder to the team that it will sometimes need to deal with adversity. Navid Mashinchi got goals in each of the weekend wins for the Thunderbirds. Milad Mehrabi set up Mashinchi’s goal in the Winnipeg win and then scored one himself. And keeper Richard Meister got back-to-back clean sheets over the weekend. And why is UBC likely to hold onto No. 1? The T-Birds have a bye weekend coming up. No games played equals no chances to lose. RYE HIGH I’m an alum, so I’m not offside when I write this: When I see Ryerson ranked No. 2 in a sport, in ANY sport, I assume it’s a mistake, or a joke. Ryerson isn’t a school normally associated with national titles. But the Rams not only kept the momentum going with two weekend wins in Toronto, but clinched the OUA East regular-season title. The Rams have now won 11 of the 12 games they’ve played. Alex Braletic leads CIS with 13 goals, and scored in Saturday’s 2-1 win over RMC. On Sunday, the Rams wrapped up the East with a 4-2 win over Queen’s. The game was actually scoreless till the 75th minute. In the 79th minute, Ryerson was up 3-0. After an own goal, Luka Lee scored twice in a three-minute span, and the game was all but over. York held the No. 1 ranking this season, and the Lions looked at one time to be the sure bets to be Ontario’s best hope to try and compete with the Canada West giants at nationals. But, heck, Ryerson can argue that York isn’t even Toronto’s best university team at the moment. OTTAWA COMES DOWN TO EARTH It took 20 years, but Carleton’s women’s soccer program can finally boast a “W” over its city rivals. The Ravens got two goals from Abby Nicastro, one on a penalty, and stunned the nationally No. 1-ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees by a 4-1 count. Andrianna Ruggiero and Sarah Royer also scored for the Ravens, who finally could break the spell of being the “other” soccer program in the nation’s capital, at least when it came to the women’s game. The warning signs were there for Ottawa. On Wednesday, the Gee-Gees could only manage a 0-0 draw with RMC. Paladins’ keeper Alexandria Hogg earned the clean sheet against the team that may no longer be No. 1 when the Tuesday rankings come out.