Courtesy: Stephen KassimThe Blues dominated the contest from the opening whistle onward, earning consecutive corner kicks and putting the Ryerson defense under pressure from the get-go. On their third corner, the ball took multiple bounces off the legs of both sides, but rolled just wide of the post to keep the game scoreless.
Viktor Anastasov looked to have opened the scoring in the 15th minute off a rebound, but the Toronto native was called for being offside on the play. That was the one of the rare occasions where the Rams got close to the Toronto goal.
As he did in the first meeting between the two teams back in September, Kovacevic tallied the contest's first goal in the 20th minute, heading the ball past Aaryon Gaeeni (Toronto) to put the Blues up 1-0.
Kovacevic (Woodbridge, Ont.) nearly doubled the Toronto advantage, chipping the ball over Gaeeni a few minutes later. However, a remarkable sliding save by Markus Molder (Toronto) cleared the ball just as it was about to cross the goal-line.
Although Toronto had to deal with two injuries early in the game, one to their captain Darragh McGee and the other to starting keeper John Smits that forced substitutions for both players, the Blues continued pounding the Rams defense looking to pad the lead before halftime.
They would be rewarded in the 43rd minute when Ezequiel Lubocki was left uncovered on the right side of the goal. The Winnipeg native had an easy tap-in to widen the Toronto lead to 2-0 going into halftime.
The Blues didn't miss a beat in the second, as Kovacevic put Toronto up by three in the 60th minute after one-timing a low pass from Geoff Borgmann (Mississauga) underneath Gaeeni. He would complete the hat-trick later in the half.
"That was absolute domination by U of T," stated Associate Coach Filip Prostran. "It was clear they prepared all week for us. They showed up and we didn't."
Prostran explained that the Rams are still struggling with the physical aspect of the game, and that has exposed them in all three losses this season.
"The physical battles we keep losing," he said. "It costs with Carleton, Laurentian and here. We get knocked out of the game and it showed today."
The Rams (8-3-2) squandered an opportunity to clinch a first-round bye and second place in the East, and fall to third with the loss, while the victory puts Toronto in a position to challenge the first-place Carleton Ravens for the division title after leapfrogging the Rams into second.
Ryerson will look to rebound and finish the season on a high-note in Ottawa, Ont. next weekend, where they will take on the CIS No. 4-ranked Ravens.
The OUA playoffs begin on October 26.
