October 26, 2005 Source: Nipissing University:
http://www.nipissingu.ca/news/view.asp?ID=47 Yung leads Lakers into OUA playoffs The Nipissing University Lakers men’s soccer team saved the best for last. With the final playoff position in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) North Division on the line, the Lakers came through with flying colours, blanking the Laurentian Voyageurs 3-0 Saturday afternoon at Nipissing University Field. The victory moved the Lakers (3-5-2) into a third-place tie in the division with the Vees (3-5-2) and since a head-on win was the tiebreaker, the Nipissing squad advances to the first round of OUA playoffs against either the McMaster Marauders or Guelph Gryphons. In Saturday’s match-up, the Lakers led 1-0 at halftime, before adding a pair of second-half-goals. Eric Yung paced the Lakers attack with a goal and an assist, while the other goals came from Cam Culbert and David Orlando. Culbert opened the scoring in the 20th minute, when he tapped home Yung’s rebound past Laurentian goal-keeper Ryan Bradley. Yung was again front and centre at the 10 minute mark of the second half when he was sent in alone on Bradley by teammate Mustafa Zafarzadeh. He made no mistake beating the Laurentian goalkeeper. The homeside upped its margin to 3-0 in the 22nd minute when Orlando finished off a nifty two-and one passing play by dropping a kick over Bradley’s head and below the crossbar. "All season our coaches have told us to advance the ball past their defence and shoot. That’s what we did today and good things happened," said Yung. "That’s what I did on the first goal. I shot on net and there was a big rebound for Cam (Culbert) to put home." Yung said the Lakers are a confident group heading into the playoffs. "We’re 100 per cent confident," he said. "We beat Guelph during the regular season, and although we were unfortunate against McMaster, we’re confident we can beat them." Lakers’ head coach Peter Bitonti credited an improved offence for the Lakers’ success against the Vees. "The key to today’s win was our goal-scoring," said Bitonti. "That’s an area that we’ve had trouble with all season, but today we seemed to be able to find the net." In women’s action, the Lady Vees shaded the Lakers 3-2 behind the two-goal performance of Cara Smith, in a game that meant nothing in the final standings. Michelle Sousa had the winners’ other goal , while the Nipissing goalscorers were Kate St. Onge and Jessica Gillespie. "We played for pride today and we had a great game," said Lady Lakers’ head coach Vito Castiglione. "Since it was our last game, we played the entire bench and concentrated on having fun." The Lady Lakers finished in fourth position in the OUA North Division with a 2-4-3 record.
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