Season Recap
The Western Mustangs men’s soccer team got hot at the right time in 2009, and as a result, nearly earned a spot in the CIS Championships despite a mediocre regular season. The only thing that held them back was a 3-2 OUA semifinal loss (in penalty kicks) to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who had posted an 11-1-2 record in the regular season and went on to finish fourth at the national championships.
The Mustangs regrouped, though, and came away with an OUA bronze medal with a 1-0 defeat of the Carleton Ravens (again in penalty kicks). With Western leading 3-2 in the shootout following goals by Daniel Frankel (Toronto, Ont.), Vince Caminiti (London, Ont.) and Michael Marcoccia (London, Ont.), Mustangs goalkeeper Andrew Murdoch (Burlington, Ont.) made a big save on Carleton’s Halid Sefic (Burlington, Ont.) to give Western the bronze medal, their best finish since 2007.
Ironically, the Mustangs (4-6-4) nearly didn’t get the chance to compete for an OUA medal. After losing 3-0 to a strong York team (8-2-3) on the final day of the regular season, they needed outside help to sneak into the postseason. They got just that, though, as the Brock Badgers played spoiler by beating the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 4-0 to punch Western’s playoff ticket. To say that the Mustangs seized that opportunity would be an understatement.
Western, who entered the playoffs as the No. 6 seed in the OUA West, opened the postseason with a convincing 6-0 win over the Waterloo Warriors, who came in as the West’s No. 3 seed. The Mustangs then followed that up with the biggest upset of the OUA season, beating the defending CIS-champion and No. 2 nationally-ranked York Lions 1-0 in the OUA West semifinal. Nick Agam (Oakville, ON) was the hero, punching in the game’s lone goal off a rebound from a free kick in the 86th minute to send the Mustangs to an OUA semifinal matchup against the Varsity Blues.
It was clearly a tale of two seasons for the Mustangs in 2009. During the regular season, the team managed just 11 goals in 14 games (while allowing 15). In the playoffs, however, they scored nine times and allowed just two goals against in four contests. Overall, Mark Pocrnic (London, Ont.) led the way with four goals on the year, while Marcoccia and Ryan Avola (London, Ont.) had three goals apiece.
OUA Regular Season Record:
4-6-4 (sixth place in OUA West)
OUA Playoff Record:
3-1 (2009 OUA Bronze Medalists)
Western beats Carleton 1-0 (3-2 on penalty kicks) to claim OUA Bronze
OUA Awards:
First-Team All-Star: Defender Mark Bennett (Brantford, Ont.)
Second-Team All-Stars: Midfielder Camilo Gonzalez (London, Ont.), Strikers Eric Amato (Toronto, Ont.) and Marc Pocrnic (London, Ont.)
