North Bay, Ontario – Nipissing Men's Soccer wrapped up their 2026 regular season this past weekend with two matches at home.
On Saturday, October 17th, the Lakers took the field against the Trent Excalibur for a 2:15PM kickoff.
No goals were had for either side for much of the half until Trent broke through after the 40th minute, scoring three times to stun the home crowd and take a 3-0 lead into the dressing rooms.
In the second half, Nipissing got on the board courtesy of Caelan Walraven in the 66th minute.
From there, the Lakers hit two crossbars in a flurry of opportunities down the stretch looking to tie the match. Trent would end up taking the match 3-1.
Nipissing outshot Trent 8-7. Lakers goalkeeper Dante Emmanuel recorded 3 saves in the loss.
A chippy match; both sides combined for a total of 32 fouls through 90 minutes and stoppage time.
Then, on Sunday, October 18th, the Lakers looked to finish the season strong as the TMU Bold were the opponents.
In the first half, TMU got on the scoresheet first, taking a 1-0 lead at 13:02.
The 1-0 lead would hold through 45 minutes of play.
The Lakers looked to equalize the game and played with intensity to begin the second half.
After working hard to gain momentum, it was Nipissing's Arsalan Malik who scored in the 67th minute to tie the match at one. Caelan Walraven picked up the assist on the tally.
Nipissing and TMU produced chances at either end of the field for the remaining minutes, but a 1-1 draw is where this match would end.
Picking up a point against a playoff-bound TMU side to finish the season is a positive to build on for MSOC as they head into the offseason.
Nipissing recorded 7 shots in the match to TMU's 8. Lakers goalkeeper Joshua Biswanger made 3 saves in the draw.
Prior to the match, Nipissing Athletics honoured Men's Soccer's six graduating student athletes:
Men's Soccer finishes the 2026 season with a 3-7-2 record, good for 11 points and 8th in the OUA East.
Thank you, Lakers fans, for attending and supporting Men's Soccer this season.
The countdown to 2027 begins now.
