Blues drop exhibition opener to Carabins

The University of Toronto men's soccer team opened their preseason schedule with a hard-fought 4-1 loss to the Montréal Carabins on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 21 at Varsity Stadium.

The Carabins struck quickly in the first half, controlling the pace of play from kick-off and opening the scoring in the 18^th minute, followed by another strike at 20'. The Blues applied pressure as the match went on, but the score remained 2-0 for the visitors at halftime. Toronto's charge was spearheaded by Vancouver FC draft pick Mehdi Essoussi, as the recent 10^th overall CPL-U SPORTS draft selection made his presence known throughout the match.

The Blues continued to battle in the second half, recording six shots on target, but Montreal countered with 13 of their own. The Carabins doubled their lead with two more goals at 75' and 79'. Toronto spoiled Carabins goalkeeper Joakim Milli's clean sheet with a tally by Gianluca Scurti in the 83^rd minute.

Quinton Chung, Russell Stewart, and Kingsley Belele all recorded two shots on goal each, while Filip Zendelek made seven saves for the Blue and White.

U of T kicks off the regular season on Friday, Aug. 29 at 8:15 p.m. in Oshawa, Ont. against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks, the team that eliminated the Blues in the OUA quarter-final playoffs last season. All soccer games are available to stream on oua.tv. The Blues will be back on home turf at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 31 for their home opener against the Carleton Ravens. Tickets are free for students and are available at varsityblues.ca/tickets.