SHERIDAN 6, REDEEMER 1

ANCASTER, Ont. - On a day where things didn't seem to go Redeemer's way, both women's and men's soccer teams dropped their season openers to the Sheridan Bruins at the Royals Soccer Complex in Ancaster.

The day began with a torrential downpour minutes before the kickoff of the women's game. The rain led to a very soggy first half which saw neither team able to develop any rhythm offensively. The teams entered halftime at 0-0.

As the teams settled down in the second half and the weather conditions improved, the Sheridan Bruins were first to find their scoring touch with a goal in the 58th minute. Kendra Cooper buried one past Redeemer's keeper Grace Berkel (Simcoe, Ont.) to take a 1-0 lead.

The Bruins strengthened their lead less than 10 minutes later when Jackie Hart scored from well outside the 18 yard box.

While the Royals struggled to pose a threat offensively, they played very consistently at the back. Berkel made a number of key saves in net early in the second half and first year Elli Reitsma (Goderich, Ont.) cleared a ball off the goal line in the 71st minute that was headed for the back of the net.

The game stood at 2-0 up until the end as the Bruins stole the win from the Royals on opening day.

Head coach Caell Huyer summed up the day saying, "I thought we played hard today. I think we played with passion but we didn't play as a team. Because of that we created holes and had little support."

The Royals were heavily outshot in the match and had difficulty creating quality scoring opportunities. "We did a decent job transitioning to defence but were not able to transition up the field and create chances", commented Huyer.

After a successful preseason that saw the men's team post a 2-1 record under the guidance of new head coach Kyle Grootenboer, the Royals took a step back in their season opener with a 6-1 loss to the Sheridan Bruins.

The Royals new they would be in tough against the perennial powerhouse Bruins. The Royals showed some hope when first year Lewis Tuininga (Orillia, Ont.) put the Royals on the board in the 20th minute to tie the game at 1-1. However, Sheridan was able to wear Redeemer down as the game progressed.

Goals in the 40th (Nicholas Lindsay) and 43rd (David Velastegui) minutes by the Bruins put the Royals at a 3-1 deficit heading into the half.

From that point, both teams played a scoreless 40 minutes before Sheridan put the game out of reach with a goal in the 81st (Nicholas Lindsay) minute. The Bruins added two more goals in the 83rd (Matthew Santos) and 90th (Nicholas Lindsay) minute for the 6-1 win.

In his first league game as the bench boss for the Royals, Kyle Grootenboer was very honest saying, "it was an eye opener. It is good to see where we need to be in order to compete with the top teams in this league. It's a good team that we played against today and that's where we need to get to."

Both teams will look to rebound as they have a few days off before returning to the field on Wednesday night. The women's team plays at 4:30 p.m. at the Royals Sports Complex and the men's team follows at 6:30 p.m.

Source: Redeemer University College

ANCASTER, Ont. - It may not have been as smooth of a ride as the final margin would suggest, but the Sheridan Bruins men's soccer team (1-0 OCAA) were able to capitalize on many of the opportunities they created, kicking off their 2013 campaign with a 6-1 win against Redeemer.

"I thought we played well possession-wise, like we often do," Sheridan head coach Andrew Seuradge said. "We need some work defensively, but we scored goals and kept possession most of the game, so we're happy with the result."

The opening goal for the Double-Blue came just six minutes from kickoff, with David Velastegui working the give-and-go with Nicholas Lindsay, before blasting it past the keeper low on the left side.

Redeemer would pull level 14 minutes later, with Lewis Tuninga corralling a loose ball after a sloppy Sheridan turnover just inside their own half and lofting it over the head of Michael Adjei-Kwarteng.

The home side had a quality chance to pull in front just a few minutes later, but Adjei-Kwarteng was able to make a sliding save to thwart the opportunity.

The Bruins would then settle down and pulled back in front nearing the half when Velastegui kept a long ball in play near the right corner, before swinging it back into the area where Lindsay headed it home.

Just three minutes later the Double-Blue doubled their advantage, when Velastegui potted his second goal, to give Sheridan a 3-1 edge at the break.

There would be no more scoring until the final 10 minutes when Lindsay added two more goals to record a hat-trick in his Bruin debut, while freshman Matthew Santos was also able to find the back of the net in his first game.

The club now has a full week before their next game - their longest stretch of inactivity for the entire season - before playing against St. Clair and Lambton on back-to-back days.

Seuradge knows the coming days will provide them with a good opportunity to iron out some kinks, as well as add in a few of their own wrinkles.

"Definitely practice will be intense and definitely we'll be working on the defensive side," he said. "We'll also put some work in on our finishing and our set pieces. There are a lot of things we need to work on before next week."

Blue notes: Velastegui's two goals moves him into a share of fifth place on the Sheridan all-time scoring list with 11. He now shares that spot with Jonathan Costa, Darren Fernandes, Christian McCann and Pelico Borea.

Source: Sheridan College