The Laurentian Lady Vees and Voyageurs Nordic
Ski Team started off their season with an early meet and
dominated the trails. The Vees and Voyageurs participated in
the Hardwood Hills Invitational on Dec. 14 and were able to
sweep the podium in the men's category, while also taking the
top two spots in the women's category. This was not a team
meet, however, so there were no team standings recorded.
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Despite their intense effort all
season, the Voyageurs didn't make the 2005 OUA
playoffs. |
On the men's side, rookie skier Victor
Wiltman lead the charge for the Voyageurs earning the days top
time and a first-place finish in the 7-km race in a time of
0:20:26.0. Tim Carlton tried to chase down Wiltman but was
unable to do so and finished in second in a time of 0:20:44.5,
while Roddy Purzner was third in a time of 0:21:36.3.
On the women's side, it was once again a
rookie skier leading the charge. Julie Porter was able to hold
off her teammate Aden Beresford for first place. Porter
finished the 5-km race in a time of 0:17:18.6, while Beresford
finished only seconds back in a time of 0:17:35.7. Rounding out
the top three was Brittany Barclay from the University of
Guelph who finished in a time of 0:19:51.2. The women took six
of the top seven spots at the meet.
Men's University Category (7-km Race)
1. Victor Wiltman, LU 0:20:26.0
2. Tim Carlton, LU 0:20:40.5
3. Roddy Purzner, LU 0:21:36.3
4. Reed Morrison, LU 0:23:25.4
Women's University Category (5-km Race)
1. Julie Porter, LU 0:17:18.6
2. Aden Beresford, LU 0:17:35.7
3. Brittany Barclay, UG 0:19:51.2
4. Kristen Zazelenchuk, LU 0:21:12.8
5. Jessica Perry, LU 0:21:42.2
6. Bev Lewis, LU 0:23:07.3
7. Jessica Hanson, LU 0:25:41.4
Men's soccer
The Laurentian men's soccer team looked to
make a run at the playoffs and beyond in 2005. They returned
first team Ontario University Athletics (OUA) North /South
division all stars Giuseppe Politi and Joe Jesseau and second
team all star Stephen Soutar. This experience at both ends of
the pitch looked to propel the Voyageurs right into thick of
the OUA title race.
The men started off their campaign by
defeating the Waterloo Warriors in back-to-back exhibition
games. They could not carry this momentum into the start of the
regular season as they lost their home openers 2-0 to U of T
and 4-0 to York. After tying Nipissing, the Voyageurs took to
the road and lost two hard fought battles to McMaster and
Brock.
This left Laurentian with a disappointing
record of 0-4-1 at the midpoint of their regular season.
Knowing they were not playing up to potential forwards Matt
Carbone, Matt Boulton and Politi took charge in the second half
of the schedule. Victories over Ryerson, Toronto and York and a
tie against Guelph left the Voyageurs on the verge of making
the playoffs. All that stood between them and a play off berth
was a match against archrivals the Nipissing Lakers.
Unfortunately on that Saturday afternoon, the
Lakers were the better team and ended the Voyageurs play off
dreams defeating them 3-0.
"We had some real good chances, we just could
not find the back of the net," stated head coach Carlo
Castrechino following the loss in a news release. He went on to
say "that is the story of our season," commenting on how missed
opportunities cost the team throughout the year.
The Voyageurs finished the season with a
3-5-2 record and a last place finish in the OUA North. Politi
led the team in scoring with five goals, good for 7th in the
OUA and Top 20 in the CIS. He was also named a second team OUA
North/South division all star.
Although the Voyageurs lost a number of
veteran players, some key players from this year's season will
return. Players such as Carbone will be looked upon next year
to carry the load and lead this team back into the
playoffs.
