W-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Mustangs knock off defending champion Golden Hawks
The Western Mustang women's soccer team got some redemption for last year's loss to Laurier in the OUA Finals on Saturday afternoon, playing a strong 90 minutes of play to come away with a 2-0 victory over the Golden Hawks at TD Stadium.
Saturday, September 6
Laurier 0 @ Western 2
LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustang women's soccer team got some redemption for last year's loss to Laurier in the OUA Finals on Saturday afternoon, playing a strong 90 minutes of play to come away with a 2-0 victory over the Golden Hawks at TD Stadium.
With the win, Western remains undefeated to start the season at 4-0-0. The Mustangs' have yet to have a goal scored against them this season—a stat that Mustangs head coach Martin Painter accredited largely to goaltender Tori Edgar.
"Overall we are a strong defensive team," Painter said. "I think a big part of that is our goalkeeper [Tori], who is fantastic. She is loud and confident in her position…and virtually played a mistake free game."
Western started off the first half strong with a goal by leading OUA scorer Amanda Boyle just four minutes in. Both teams showed strong offensive skills but the Mustang's front line would get the better of the Golden Hawks once again in the 27 minute, with Lauren Winquist netting Western's second goal.
The Golden Hawks fought back, putting pressure on Western defense in the last four minute of the half. With a mere ten seconds left on the clock Laurier received a foul shot which was deflected by Western's defensive line, giving the Mustangs a 2-0 lead heading into the half.
In the second period the Mustangs were met with a stronger offensive line from the Golden Hawks, giving goal tender Tori Edgar a chance to show off her consistency and timing.
Golden Hawk keeper Maggie Carmichael also put forth a strong effort for Laurier, blocking all of the purple and white's shots in the second half. But despite the excellent goal tending, the Golden Hawks just could not fight back from the Mustang's two-goal lead.
Laurentian 0 @ Queen's 3
The Queen's women's soccer team defeated Laurentian 3-0 in their home opener at Miklas-McCarney Field on Saturday afternoon.
The first half was highlighted early on by great defensive play from both squads. Neither team was able to generate scoring chances as both teams featured strong defensive play. The Gaels broke through in the 36th minute when Tianna Lombardo (Calgary) buried a penalty shot after being taken down in the box. Laurentian's Julie Lopez attempted to even the score in the final minute of the half but was denied on a great save by Gaels keeper Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.).
The Gaels dominated the second half of play, outshooting Laurentian 13-3. Putting balls toward the net worked out in the Gaels favour, as they scored in the 54th minute after a miscommunication led to an own-goal by Laurentian. The Gaels added an insurance marker in the 75th minute when Jackie Tessier (Winnipeg, Man.) buried her fourth goal of the season on a beautiful pass from Matija Skoko (Toronto, Ont.). Tessier is now just two goals back of tying the Gaels women's soccer all-time scoring record.
Nipissing 2 @ RMC 2
The Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team has earned another point on the road, with a 2-2 draw Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers, after splitting a pair of games in Toronto, earned a 2-2 draw against the RMC Paladins in Kingston to kick off another two games on the road to begin the season.
The Lakers now have a record of 1-1-1 through their first three games, with their fourth straight road game taking place Sunday morning against the Queens Gaels.
The Lakers received goals from Shannon Russell and Val Confesor and twice erased a one-goal deficit to earn the point.
The Paladins opened up the scoring in the 20th minute and took the lead into the break.
The score remained 1-0 until the 65th minute when the offence opened up and the teams combined for three goals in five minutes.
Shannon Russell scored for the Lakers, tying the game up, but just two minutes later, the Paladins took the lead again.
Now trailing 2-1, Confesor found the back of the net in the 70th minute to tie the game once more, which is the way things would end.
Kelly Dunk made seven saves for the Lakers who outshot the Paladins 16-9.
Ryerson 0 @ Carleton 1
OTTAWA –The opening minutes of the game saw the Ravens and the Rams well matched, each making forays into the other's end. But as the half progressed there were only a few serious attempts on net from either side. Early on, Ryerson's Janica Adams (Toronto, ON) displayed some speed on the left flank but was brought down by the tenacious Raven defence and had to be replaced by Nicole Haynes (Whitby, ON).
Carleton had the lion's share of possession through the first half but couldn't capitalize, the Ravens picked up the pressure near the end of the half but no one could find the back of the net. Nicole Filipow (Edmonton, AB) had a few daring chances, her best attempt came off a cross in from Vanessa Germano (Ottawa, ON). Filipow executed a great turn near the top of the 18 yard box and her first attempt had Ryerson's keeper, Brittney Clendenan (Ottawa, ON), fumbling the catch but Filipow sent her second straight into the keeper who covered it quickly. It was Clendenan's actions between the sticks that kept the Rams in the game for the first half.
Both teams came out with more intensity in the second half. Unfortunately for Ryerson their best chance culminated in a breakaway by Sarah Harvey that was flagged offside in the 58th minute. For the Ravens the second half was more profitable. After being smothered by the Rams' defence for the first 28 minutes a gorgeous pass from Malat Cherent (Ottawa, ON) found Sarah Royer's (Lethbridge, AB) head and she drove it into the back of the net to put the Ravens up 1 – nil. Ravens' fans were not surprised that their goal came from Royer, she has scored in all three of the Ravens' matches this season. Cherent came in as a sub in 29th minute for Abby Nicastro (Ottawa, ON) and really made an impact on the right flank. The Ravens' goal unsettled the Rams' defence and mental errors in their back line left them scrambling but Clendenan was there to back up her defence and hold the Ravens' lead to 1.
Carleton's Head Coach, Raz El Asmar, admitted that his team had a bit of a slow start but said, "When we started settling to play our possession we started to move the ball around nicely and we started to find the space in behind them."
Toronto 1 @ Ottawa 2
OTTAWA – The Gee-Gees women's soccer team (2-1-0) have won the first of their two weekend home games against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues (1-1-1) in a heated 2-1 victory. Rookie Faythe Lou scored early in the game at 6 minutes and Julia Francki followed shortly after at 17 minutes to put the team in the lead the team 2-0.
It was a slower start for Toronto as they spent most of the first half in the defensive zone. "Ottawa came out on fire", says Toronto head coach Stuart Neely who believes the two goals were let in too easily. After some readjustments at half time Neely says he's happy with the second half turnaround, "we're rebuilding a program and I have to be content with how they responded to half time".
The Varsity Blues put themselves on the scoreboard after Nicki Parkes got a goal at 78 minutes into the second half. Toronto came back strong adding pressure to Ottawa. "We didn't create as many opportunities we did in the first half and deservedly had to sweat out the last few minutes", said Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson.
New recruit and MVP of the Ottawa Gee-Gees, Morgan McNeil thought it was a "better out come this weekend than last weekend, there was a better effort we worked better as a team". This marks the Gee-Gees second consecutive win.
Trent 1 @ OUIT 5
OSHAWA, Ont. – UOIT scored four goals in the second half as they went on to pick up a 5-1 victory over Trent University on Saturday afternoon in OUA women's soccer action.
With the Ridgebacks and Excalibur locked in a 1-1 draw at the half, UOIT head coach Peyvand Mossavat made some adjustments to his line-up, which included moving Shannon Lucas (Oshawa, Ont.) to the front line. The move paid off as Lucas broke free and scored on a chip shot at the 53-minute mark, a goal that proved to be the game winner.
The Ridgebacks' offence continued to fire on all cylinders as they scored three more times in the half including goals from Nicole Zajac (Mississauga), Katherine Koehler-Grassau (Greely, Ont.) and Alyssia Robichaud (Toronto).
UOIT's second half performance mirrored the way their day got started as the Ridgebacks scored just two minutes into the contest. Zajac crossed a ball to Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.) who gained position on the defender and banked in her first goal of the season. However, Trent tied the game 20 minutes later as Abby Llyod beat UOIT keeper Melissa Linton (Cobourg, Ont.) off a long-distance free kick.
Trent goalkeeper Emily Webb had a busy game with UOIT firing 21 shots on goal. Webb kept things close in the first half with six saves, including a diving stop off a free kick from Jessica Mithrush (Thunder Bay, Ont.). Total shots finished 24-5 in favour of the Ridgebacks.
Windsor 4 @ Brock 1
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University women's soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to the visiting Windsor Lancers Saturday afternoon at Brock Badgers Field.
The Windsor women opened the scoring five minutes into the first half as Becca Fuerth beat Brock starter Jenna Vasiliaskas for her first goal of the season. The Lancers would strike again in the 39th minute to go up 2-0 as Giulia Barile found the head of Laura Leece for her first of 2014.
Just three minutes into the second half, Fuerth would bury home her second of the contest to put the Lancers up 3-0. In the 59th minute Leece would setup Barile for her first goal of the campaign for the commanding 4-0 lead.
Brock's Alicia Robinson, would spoil the shutout in the 64th minute burying home a rebound over the hands of Windsor starting goalkeeper Krystin Lawrence making it 4-1.
Late in the contest the Badgers offense had some great scoring opportunities rattling one of the crossbar and getting denied twice in close with two excellent saves by Lawrence.
Lawrence turned aside 11 of 12 Brock shots she faced for the victory. Brock's Vasiliaskas collected 11 saves in the loss.
York 16 @ Algoma 0
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The York University Lions women's soccer team rolled to a dominant 16-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds in the first ever meeting between the two teams on Saturday at Superior Heights Field.
Eight different players registered a goal in the contest, led by third-year striker Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.), who found the back of the net five times on seven shots. She is now tied for the OUA lead in scoring with seven goals in three games.
Also posting a multi-goal game was striker Stephanie Caruso (Toronto) with a hat trick, and she also added two assists.
The victory stretched the team's season-opening winning streak to three games, and the Lions are now one of only two teams (along with Western) to remain undefeated on the year. The Thunderbirds, who are new to the OUA this season, fell to 0-3-0 with the loss.
Charlene D'Mello (Mississauga, Ont.), Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.), Shannon Wood (Brampton, Ont.), Marilyn Grammenopoulos (Whitby, Ont.), Magda Blakeson (West Dummerston, Vt.), Bria Williams (Mississauga, Ont.), Colleen Beesley (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Christina Morelli (Markham, Ont.) all added one goal each in the win.
Guelph 1 @ McMaster 2
HAMILTON, Ont. - Despite conceding a goal in the opening 15 minutes, the Marauder women's soccer team regrouped to edge the Guelph Gryphons 2-1 at Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday.
Jacqueline Goulart was the goalscorer for the Gryphons, while Noor Sakran and Ann Yeboah answered for McMaster. With the victory, the Marauders evened their conference record at 1-1.
Guelph got off to a blazing fast start when Goulart struck to open the scoring within the first 15 minutes of the match. But that advantage disappeared quickly, as the Gryphons were called for handling the ball in the box in the 21st minute. The third-year midfielder Sakran stepped up and made no mistake in side-footing the ball past the keeper to level the match.
The remainder of the opening half was fairly quiet, with neither team able to convincingly threaten on the attack, and rather settling into a battle in midfield. It was little surprise when the whistle blew to carry the teams into the interval deadlocked at a goal apiece.
It was the visitors who were quickest out of the gate in the second half, and Guelph nearly retook the lead in the 49th minute, when a low drive thundered off of McMaster's near post and clear of danger. Instead, Yeboah struck against the run of play just seven minutes later, bundling a lofted corner past the keeper at point-blank range.
The woodwork denied the Gryphons once again in the 76th minute, when their free kick hit the crossbar and the second effort on the rebound was hammered well wide of the net. One final opportunity saw Marauder keeper Brittany Duffey turn aside a well-taken shot at the near post, preserving the McMaster lead in the 87th minute.
That was the last chance Guelph would have to overturn its deficit, and McMaster escaped with the full three points on Saturday.
Sunday, September 7
Nipissing 0 @ Queen's 2
KINGSTON, Ont. - The Queen's women's soccer team earned their third shutout victory of the season as they defeated Nipissing 2-0 Sunday afternoon at Tindall Field.
The Gaels showed no signs of fatigue as they came out strong to begin their match against Nipissing a day after defeating Laurentian. The team was able to generate numerous scoring chances but could not capitalize early on in the game. The Gaels broke through in the 20th minute after Rachel Radu (Ottawa) intercepted a Nipissing clearing attempt and dished it to Tara Bartram (Vancouver) who deposited the ball into the back of the net. The women continued to pour on the offensive pressure, narrowly missing several great scoring opportunities. Gaels keeper Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) turned aside all shots that came her way highlighted by a sliding save in the 44th minute that preserved the lead.
It did not take long for the Gaels to find their offensive touch in the second half as Tianna Lombardo (Calgary) buried a cross pass from Claudia Glasspoole (Calgary) in the 50th minute. Soon after, Bartram looked to score her second of the match but was robbed on a highlight reel save by Nipissing keeper Carlee Bennard. The Gaels continued their dominant play and never looked back as they rode an eight save shutout by Tyrell to a 2-0 victory.
Laurentian 1 @ RMC 0
KINGSTON, Ont. – Michelle Walsh scored in the 71' minute and Dina Mandolesi turned aside all four shots she faced to earn the clean sheet in Laurentian's 1-0 victory on Sunday.
Alexandria Hogg stopped 11 of the 12 shots she faced for RMC.
York 12 @ Algoma 0
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – Fourth-year striker Colleen Beesley scored four goals to lead the York University Lions women's soccer team to a dominant 12-0 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 7) at Superior Heights Field in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
The win was the second in back-to-back games for the Lions over the Thunderbirds, as the visitors outscored their opponents by a combined 28-0 in two contests. The victory also equaled the total number of wins they had in 16 games last year, and they remain one of only two squads in the OUA West with an undefeated mark after two weeks of the season.
It took 30 minutes for the Lions to get on the board, with Alessa Mattucci (Thornhill, Ont.) opening the scoring. Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) added her eighth of the year just before halftime to give the squad a 2-0 lead at the break.
After the slow start to the game, the Lions exploded for 10 goals in the second half, including the four by Beesley (Richmond Hill, Ont.). She kicked things off just three minutes into the frame and also found the back of the net in the 60th, 78th and 86th minutes.
One day after recording her first career hat trick, Stephanie Caruso (Toronto) scored two goals and assisted on another two.
Charlene D'Mello (Mississauga, Ont.), Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.), Daniella Bonazza (Woodbridge, Ont.) and Shannon Wood (Brampton, Ont.) recorded one goal each to round out the scoring.
Tamara Orlando (East York, Ont.), in her first start in net, earned the cleansheet while having to make just one save.
The schedule gets a lot tougher for the Lions beginning next weekend, as they will travel to London, Ont., to face the OUA West's other undefeated squad in the Western Mustangs.
Western 3 @ Brock 0
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Amanda Boyle supplied all the offence the Mustangs would need against the Brock Badgers on Sunday afternoon, scoring three goals to lead Western to a 3-0 victory— their fifth straight to start the season.
The match was just another line in a storybook start to the season for the Mustangs, who sit first in the OUA at 5-0-0 and have yet to concede a goal in regular season play. Boyle has been a big reason for that success, as she sits atop the OUA leaderboard in both goals with 10 and points with 21.
The Vaughan, Ontario native was able to get the purple and white on the scoreboard early on Sunday, netting the opening goal just three minutes into the match. The Mustangs worked to continue their momentum throughout the first half of the action with Boyle leading the charge, as the sophomore striker would further the Mustangs advantage by finding the back of the net two more times before the half came to a close.
In the second half the Mustangs defended well to keep the Badger's shots on goal to a minimum, while their offence continued to pressure Brock's goaltender Jenna Vasiliaskas. On the other end of the pitch, Tori Edgar continued her strong play, stopping both of the Badger's shots to come away with her fifth consecutive clean sheet on the year.
The win gives Western their longest undefeated streak to start the season since 2005, when the Mustangs went 4-0-1 through their first five games. With the loss, the Badgers now sit at 0-4-0 in the OUA West Division standings.
Ryerson 0 @ Ottawa 9
OTTAWA – The uOttawa Gee-Gees struck early and often on Sunday afternoon at Matt Anthony field as rookie Katherine Bearne had an impressive outing as she buried the first goal of the game at the 1:12 mark while adding two more goals for the hat trick. The Gee-Gees continued to score goals throughout the contest, resulting in a successful afternoon for the squad, as they went home with a 9-0 shutout win.
uOttawa hit the mark on four of their first four shots in the game, giving them a comfortable lead from the get go versus a Rams squad, who was hoping to capture their first win after a few narrow losses to start the campaign. Despite a low frequency of shots on goal, garnet and grey keeper, Cynthia LeBlanc was perfect in the game turning away every shot she faced.
"I liked what I saw out there today. We we're able to take some things we did wrong yesterday and make the adjustments today. I thought our back line was much better than in yesterday's game and that made a difference," said head coach Steve Johnson. "We weren't too sure what to expect against this team because they played well in past games, taking close losses but I like how we came out against them today because, if we had not started so strong things could have looked different."
Rookie Katherine Bearne impressed in front of the home crowd on Sunday finishing the game with three goals, something that she attributes to her teams preparation. "We looked at what we did yesterday and tried to take all the positives and carry it along with us into today's game. We were able to do that well and I think that's why we scored on so many of our chances."
"We are impressed with what we are seeing from her [Bearne] so far. She definitely shows a lot of promise for the future because she is such a smart player with and without the ball. She positions herself very well. We are excited to move forward with her on the team and continue to watch her development," added Johnson.
Windsor 2 @ McMaster 0
HAMILTON, Ont. – A day after an encouraging victory at home, the Marauders suffered a reversal with a disappointing 2-0 loss to the Windsor Lancers on Sunday.
Brianne Riccardi and Giulia Barile were the goalscorers for the Lancers, while goalkeeper Tara Bernard-Rae stopped all four shots she faced to keep the clean sheet. Windsor improves to 2-1 with the victory.
Much as they did a day ago, things started badly for the Marauders on Sunday. Riccardi found the back of the net in just the fourth minute, giving the Lancers an early spark that they would never relinquish. That momentum only built further in the 34th minute, when a free kick from the right found Barile unmarked in the box, and the striker easily slotted in from close range.
Windsor comfortably carried that lead into the break, and effectively squashed any Marauder attempts to get forward in the second half. The hosts' only quality chance came in the 80th minute, when midfielder Sarah Fettah found space at the edge of the box and let go an out-swinging shot that caroomed off the crossbar and away from danger.
But, for the most part, Bernard-Rae was unbothered between the posts, as the Lancers convincingly took home three points from their visit to Ron Joyce Stadium.
Laurier 5 @ Guelph 0
GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team dropped a 5-0 final Sunday to the OUA defending champion Laurier Golden Hawks at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. The Gryphons fall to 2-2-0 on the season while Laurier improves to 3-1-0.
The Gryphons defence, led by Sarah Magalhaes (Ajax, Ont.) and Alexandra Lundhild (Mississauga, Ont.), held the Hawks off through strong passing and defensive play but the game turned in Laurier's favour in the 13th minute of play with their first goal by Emily Brown. Despite strong passing and offensive pressure with nine shots on net, the Gryphons' starters Courtney Whiteside (Guelph, Ont.) and Breanna Hall (Kanata, Ont.) were unable to score.
Guelph kept the pressure on in the second half, with goalie Holly Miller (Oakville, Ont.) making an excellent save off of a header in the 83rd minute. Miller saved a total of 10 shots throughout the game.
Laurier scored three more goals in the second half but despite their best efforts, Guelph was unable to get any points on the board.
Toronto 2 @ Carleton 0
OTTAWA – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team defeated the Carleton Ravens 2-0 on Sunday, September 7 in Ottawa.
With the win, the Blues improve to 2-1-1 and sit in a four-way tie for third place in the OUA East division.
The Blues opened the scoring in the fourth minute as Claudia Piazza capitalized on a turnover and sent a booming shot into the top right corner of the net.
Carleton peppered Sara Petrucci with shots, but the U of T veteran keeper held strong as the Blues headed into halftime with the one-goal advantage.
Toronto added an insurance marker in the final minutes of the match as Alexandra Rigby found the back of the net.
