GUELPH, Ont. – Fit and ready. That's how Guelph Gryphons men's soccer coach Keith Mason described his side after a successful training camp and preseason. The Gryphons would prove their coach right in a one-sided OUA regular season opener. Star striker Jace Kotsopoulos scored both goals as Guelph took all the points in a 2-0 win over the Windsor Lancers at the Gryphon Soccer Complex Friday afternoon.

Guelph were up for the match from the get go and ended many long spells of possession with decent chances from several different positions on the pitch. Johnson Amoo was a danger early for Guelph, getting his foot on a couple well-placed crosses from either wing but both his efforts went over the Windsor crossbar.

The Gryphons were unable to breakthrough in the opening 45 minutes and had to settle for a 0-0 scoreline at the half.

Kotsopoulos would break the deadlock by opening his account on a strange set piece in the 48th minute. Guelph was awarded a free kick approximately 30 metres out in the middle of the field. The Gryphon striker lashed a low hard shot that Windsor's Shawn Hunter initially got to. But the keeper spilled it, allowing the Gryphons to take a 1-0 lead.

Guelph didn't sit back and continued to control possession. Kostopoulos completed the brace and wrapped up the three points in the 69th minute. He took a left-footed swing a ball in the area but was brought down. The referee gave the penalty kick and Kostsopoulos made no mistake, burying his strike just inside of Hunter's left post.

The rare time Windsor did build an attack, Guelph goalkeeper Erik Hermanns was there to snuff it out. He was strong in the air, gathering many Windsor crosses into the box to preserve the clean sheet.
 

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Turning point
Kostsopoulos's opener was all that the Gryphons would need. Despite being a well struck free kick, Hunter's misplay of the ball allowed Guelph the all-important first goal, which deflated the visitors.
 
Gryphon Take
"It was a good start. Three points is always what we're looking for on the first day. I think we controlled the game from beginning to end. Poor finishing in the first half let us down a little bit but we just asked the guys to pick up the tempo and move the ball. Second half, that made the difference. First half, we kept good possession but it was a little bit slow, a little bit lethargic. Second half, we added a bit more purpose to that possession, zipped it around and that created good chances and led to the couple goals. I'm disappointed we didn't score in open play when we dominated a game so much but the three points is what we wanted." -- head coach Keith Mason

"I thought we played a great game. Windsor's a good team so it showed our level of play. Our forwards were all dangerous and that freed me up a lot of the time. They had good movement and created space. Defensively, there weren't many chances on us. I'm happy." -- Jace Kostopoulos
 
The Record
Guelph is 1-0-0.
 
Next up
Western, Sunday, Aug. 26, 3:15 pm @ Gryphon Soccer Complex