The No. 8 nationally ranked McMaster Marauders men's soccer takes on the the No. 6 ranked Rams today at Ron Joyce Stadium in their last game of the regular season, scheduled to take place at 3:30 pm.
 
The Marauders played the Rams in Toronto on Thursday, coming away from the game with a tie. The 2-2 game gave McMaster one point in their division standings, holding them in second place, just two points behind the first place Rams.
 
Santiago Patarroyo Rojas opened the scoring for McMaster on Thursday night with a goal in the first five minutes of the game. Intensity rose with the Ram's Luca Di Marco getting a yellow card in the 28^th minute, but the game remained 1-0 until almost the second half.
 
Pressure and tension picked up in the 45^th minute, starting with a goal by McMaster's Miles Green and a yellow card for each team.
 
With McMaster leading 2-0 going into the second half, the Rams pushed to make a come back and Zakaria Abdi scored two goals for his team in the 57^th and 90^th minutes. The forward also received a yellow card between his goals, and the fourth and final caution was given to the Rams' Mohamad Abdallah.
 
Though the Rams continued to pressure the Marauders, McMaster's goaltender put up a strong wall and held them at two goals. A win in the rematch game on Sunday will help to ensure the second place Marauders a spot in the playoffs.
 
The top two teams from each division will move on to the postseason, along with two wildcard teams.
 
Details:
McMaster No. 8 Marauders vs. No. 6 Rams
Location: Ron Joyce Stadium
Date: Sunday Oct. 31 @ 3:30 pm
 
McMaster:
Record: 6-1-2
Standings: Second OUA Central Division
Streak: Tied one
 
Rams:
Record: 7-1-1
Standings: First OUA Central Division
Streak: Tied one
 
History:
Thursday night's game was the first time that the Marauders faced the Rams this season.
 
In year's previous, the two teams have been in different divisions and, therefore, did not play each other often, if at all. However, due to COVID-19 precautions, the league was reorganized, and they both now find themselves in the Central Division.
 
The last time that McMaster faced the Rams prior to this season was in the 2017 playoffs, and the Marauders fell to the Rams 3-0.
 
Players to Watch:
 
McMaster
 
Miles Green: The striker has four goals this season, including one in each of the last two games.
 
Dusan Kovacevic: McMaster's top goal-scorer with 12 this season, averaging 1.67 points per game.
 
Rams
 
Zakaria Abdi: The forward has six goals this season, two of which were scored in the Rams' last game against McMaster.
 
Abdallah El-Chanti: The Rams' top scorer with seven this season, averaging one point per game.