Trevor Schein wrapped an ice pack around his knee and soldiered on to the dressing room.
And even with the Hawkโs clipped talon, the defender could claim to be in better health than most of his soccer brethren, who barely escaped their tilt with the McMaster Marauders.
An amazing accomplishment considering Schein was the unwilling participant in the majority of the gameโs tumultuous spasms, as Alumni Field quickly transformed into a warzone during Sunday afternoonโs 2-2 draw.
โIt was expected,โ a battle-hardened Schein stated after the game. โEven the first time we played them, it was rough.โ
Schein was pushed, tripped, fallen on and even swatted at, during a tough day at the office for the second-year business major.
It started out innocently enough as these spats do.
โThe guy that [pushed me]; I play with him during the summer, so weโre good buddies,โ said Schein. โHe apologized right away, I know he didnโt mean anything by it, but still, it was dirty.โ
That โguyโ would be Kyle Grootenboer, the friendly-faced yet menacing captain on the other side of the minefield who potted both his Maraudersโ tallies for the day.
โYou take what you can get,โ said Grootenboer of his first strike off a midfield shocker that beat a stunned Hawks keeper, Martyn Hooker. โI just let โer loose.โ
Scheinโs day was far from over, after his mate sent him for a tumble.
Maraudersโ midfielder Aaron Boothe took flight to attempt a header down the left wing, missed the ball and fell squarely on Schein, whose teammate had seen enough from McMasterโs number nine.
The Maraudersโ pest that had walked the line all game long had just stepped over it in the eyes of Laurierโs first goal-getter Chris Walker (Ben Clifford had the other), with his reckless body slam onto Schein.
With that, the simmering volcano of tension between the teams finally erupted and together, Walker and Schein got into an escalated swiping match with Boothe and McMasterโs Omar Nakeeb.
The spat produced nothing of serious consequence save for an all-too-late yellow card for Boothe, whose transgressions were just some of many missed calls in the eyes of Hawksโ head coach Mario Halapir.
โThe refereeing was absolutely shocking today,โ said the coach of the officialโs decision to keep his whistle at his side. โGuys could have gotten hurt.โ
โToday, he just lost control,โ said Schein of the referee. โHe didnโt hand out yellow cards at the beginning when he should have… He waited too long and things got a bit out of hand.โ
Incoming fourth-year defender Matt Smith, coming off a knee injury thatโs kept him out of action the whole season, picked the wrong day to make his cautious return.
Smith had to tip-toe the battle-field in his limited minutes and could have been excused had he chosen to sit this skirmish out.
โHeโs a guy that our team misses more than anybody else. He loves the game, heโs a competitor. I was happy he got his feet wet,โ said Halapir.
With just two games remaining until the playoffs, both McMaster and Laurier are neck and neck in the standings at third and fourth in the West division respectively.
Should the two teams clash in the playoffs, it may be wise to have a few extra ice packs handy in case the ride turns turbulent for the third and final time this season.