Courtesy: Stephen KassimThe Ravens got on the board first in the 28th minute as Alexsandar Sepotovic (Waterloo, Ont.) scored to give Carleton a 1-0 lead. Sepotovic created something out of nothing, as a harmless looking ball fell to his feet but he blasted it from the corner of the 18 yard box which beat Rams keeper Christian Maraldo (Mississauga, Ont.).
Early on, Carleton was looking to stretch the field and send long balls down to their strikers but the Rams defence was able to shut those opportunities down and the Ravens started to look out of sync offensively.
Ryerson forward Viktor Anastasov (Toronto) was called into duty around the 30th minute of play and his presence helped shift momentum the Rams' way.
About five minutes after the substitution, the Rams were awarded a free kick off a hand ball about 30 yards away from goal. Alex Braletic (Thornhill, Ont.) delivered a strong entry ball into the box which found its way through all the bodies looking to get a touch and went straight into the net to tie the game at 1-1 in the 36th minute.
In the second half, the Rams foiled an opportunity from a corner kick and saw the OUA's leading scorer, Andrew Latty (Ottawa, Ont.), streak down field for the Ravens in one-on-one coverage. Latty made a nice move around the defender and then snuck the ball just past the outstretched hands of Maraldo and in off the right post to lift Carleton to a 2-1 advantage in the 60th minute.
Shortly after the goal, Carleton's keeper Mark Krocko (Ashton, Ont.) came out to play a ball and fell awkwardly, staying to ground for several moments. After receiving medical attention, Krocko resumed play but with a visible limp.
In the 72nd minute the Rams tied the score at 2-2 as Braletic received a nice drop pass from Nikola Milosevic (Etobicoke, Ont.) after Ryerson worked the ball around in the box. Krocko seemed to react late to the shot, and the ball sailed past him into the open net.
Ryerson looked to take advantage of the goalkeeper's injury as they began to increase the pace of the game. Just five minutes later, Milos Scepanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) was left unmarked by the far post and a great cross landed right at his feet for him to bury for the go-ahead goal.
As quickly as Ryerson gained the momentum and the lead, it just as quickly escaped them. In the 79th minute the Rams were called for a hand ball within their own 18 yard box, awarding Carleton a penalty kick.
This was the second time such a call had come against the Rams in the playoffs, as the same scenario unfolded on Wednesday against Laurentian but keeper Maraldo made the big save.
Maraldo was looking for the same magic on Sunday as Joey Kewin (London, Ont.) stepped to the dot. The initial shot was stopped by Maraldo but he was unable to corral the rebound and Kewin chipped it home to tie the game at 3-3.
The teams played a scoreless final ten minutes, forcing the game into overtime.
In the 99th minute, Carleton seemed to find a stroke of luck as a shot from Alex Cosovic took a deflection off the back of a Ryerson defender and bounced to the back of the net to give the Ravens a 4-3 lead.
The goal seemed to deflate the Rams a little bit, as shortly after Kewin worked his way through the middle of the defence and beat Maraldo to push the lead to two goals at 5-3 in the 101st minute.
Ryerson had few opportunities in the second half of the overtime to mount a comeback and the Ravens rounded out the scoring at 6-3 on Cosovic's second of the game in the final minute of play.
This is the third straight year the Rams have been eliminated from the postseason in extra time. In both of the last two seasons they lost in penalty kicks.
Congratulations to fifth year seniors Vince D'Elia (Vaughan, Ont.), Markus Molder (Toronto), Adrian Mancini (Richmond Hill, Ont.), and Nikola Milosevic for their outstanding careers with the Rams.
