PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - The Ryerson men's soccer team clinched third place and home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs, beating the Trent Excalibur 5-2 in Peterborough on Sunday afternoon.

The Rams (7-2-5) won four straight to earn the third seed in the OUA East, finding ways to win after tying five of seven to start the season.  The four wins include a 3-0 win over nationally ranked Carleton on Saturday and 1-0 decision over fourth place Queen's on Oct. 16.   This was also the Rams highest finish and most wins since the 1960's, when the team was known as the Zebras.

Trent (5-7-2) will get an immediate rematch against the Rams, as the two teams will face off in the first round of the playoffs. 

Rookie forward Viktor Anastasov scored his first OUA hat trick against Trent, making him the team's second leading scorer on the season with five goals. Third year midfielder Vince D'Elia and first year defender Josh Kohn scored Ryerson's other goals.

Matthew Russell and Brandon Weigel accounted for Trent's two goals, with Russell picking up a red-card.  Two Rams were carded during the contest as Dimitri Karopoulous was issued a red, and player-coach Kevin Souter picked up his fourth yellow on the campaign. 

Ryerson's Jason Morgan sat out the game with an ankle sprain he sustained against Queen's Oct. 16. 

The Rams qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Ryerson will host Trent in round one of the OUA playoffs this Wednesday (Oct. 27), 6pm at Lamport Stadium.