W-SOCCER ROUNDUP: York runs winning streak to six games
A pair of late goals from Taylor Lyons and Nour Ghoneim helped the York Lions hand the Western Mustangs women's soccer team a 2-1 loss on Saturday afternoon at Mustangs Field.
Saturday, September 13
York 2 @ Western 1
LONDON, Ont. – A pair of late goals from Taylor Lyons and Nour Ghoneim helped the York Lions hand the Western Mustangs women's soccer team a 2-1 loss on Saturday afternoon at Mustangs Field.
"We did some good things but we weren't sharp enough, quick enough - it's the small things. [The Lions] are good players and they'll punish you for it and they did that today" said Mustangs head coach Martin Painter.
Saturday's loss marks the Mustangs first defeat in a regular season game since the 2012 season, and the two points that the Lions tallied today are the first goals that Mustangs goaltender Tori Edgar has allowed all season. The Mustangs now sit at 5-1-0 in the OUA West Division standings, while the Lions have a perfect 5-0 record on the season.
Up until this point in the season the Mustangs had racked up five consecutive victories with no goals against, but the Lions were prepared for a tough battle. York led a strong offensive force right from the get go to take home the victory.
With the Lions dominating the offensive play in the first half, the Mustangs were forced to counter the Lions pressure with strong defensive coverage. Both teams battled hard to get the upper hand throughout the half, but the match went into the break scoreless for both teams.
As the second half got underway the Mustangs applied some offensive pressure of their own, and it was the purple and white who hit the scoreboard first when first year midfielder Grace Grafham netted the first goal of the game to give the Mustangs the 1-0 advantage.
Despite the one goal lead the Lions were able to regroup and reinforce their offensive pressure in the Mustangs' end of the field, and it was York's Taylor Lyons who found the back of the Mustangs net to even out the score. Five minutes later, Lions striker Nour Ghoneim scored York's second goal of the game with only seven minutes remaining to give the Lions a 2-1 win.
"[York is] going to be one of the teams that we will have to be able to beat. It didn't happen today but we have to look forward. We still have a lot of games to play," Painter added.
Carleton 5 @ Nipissing 0
NORTH BAY, Ont. – There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer home opener which took place Saturday afternoon.
After a solid start to the season on the road, the Lakers were ready to kick things off on the right foot at home, but unfortunately the Carleton Ravens had other plans.
The Ravens proved to be too much for the Lakers and earned a 5-0 win thanks to an early goal and three tallies in the second half.
Just two minutes in, the Ravens were able to find the back of the net and score what proved to be the game-winning goal.
And despite a push-back from the Lakers, a second goal before the end of the half put the Ravens up 2-0 heading into the break.
With the score 2-0, the Lakers tried to mount a comeback as they teams played even for much of the second half, however, a 10-minute span late in the clinched the victory for Carleton.
They were able to find the back of the net three times in just over nine minutes to put the game away and ruin the Lakers first game in front of their fans.
Ottawa 5 @ Laurentian 1
SUDBURY, Ont. – Julia Francki scored twice, including the opening goal, in Ottawa's 5-1 win over Laurentian on Saturday afternoon in Sudbury. The no. 6 ranked Gee-Gees used four second half goals to capture the victory and move their 2014 record to 4-1-0, while Laurentian moves to 2-2-1.
The game was locked at 1-1 after the first 45 minutes thanks to a Laurentian goal from a corner kick at the 18 minute mark in response to Francki's opening goal just five minutes into the match. After half time Ottawa continued to attack and began to find success. "We had chances to score in the first half," said head coach Steve Johnson, "But Laurentian is a tough team to play against and they made things hard for us to settle in. However, our attack was consistent throughout the game and as the game wore on they began making mistakes."
Pilar Khoury put Ottawa ahead with a corner kick goal of her own, heading the ball in just two minutes into the second half. That was followed by the third goal of the season for sophomore striker Faythe Lou and Francki's fourth of the campaign at 58 and 65 minutes, respectively. Delaney Rickert-Hall potted the final goal of the day at 77 minutes, giving her three goals to start her rookie year.
"Our quality of play improved – the ball was getting to our strikers feet a lot better in the second," explained Johnson.
RMC 0 @ UOIT 8
OSHAWA, Ont. – The UOIT women's soccer team remained undefeated with an 8-0 landslide victory over the RMC Paladins on Saturday afternoon at Vaso's Field.
The eight-goal win was UOIT's largest margin of victory in the three-year history of the program.
Four games into the season, UOIT is 3-0-1 and tied for second place in the OUA eastern conference with the Queen's Gaels, who they will face in Kingston on Sunday afternoon. Queen's is one of the top teams in the country as they moved into the CIS top 10 rankings last week.
Shannon Lucas (Ajax, Ont.) and Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.) were unstoppable in the opening stages of the game as the pair connected on two goals with just seven minutes off the clock. Sribny set up Lucas on both goals. Lucas would complete the natural hat-trick eight minutes later, marking her fourth goal in the last two games.
UOIT continued their assault on RMC with Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) scoring two goals and Jessica Mithrush (Thunder Bay, Ont.) adding another giving UOIT a 6-0 halftime lead.
Things would not get any better for RMC over the next 45 minutes as UOIT added two more goals, with Rachel Matthews (Ajax, Ont.) and Sribny getting on the scoresheet.
Lucas would end up with three goals and an assist while Sribny had one goal and two assists. Zajac also had a stellar game with two goals and an assist.
Although Melissa Linton (Cobourg, Ont.) earned her first shutout of the season, she would most likely be willing to give credit to the entire team as RMC did not register a shot on target. UOIT would outshoot RMC 24-0.
Queen's 0 @ Trent 0
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – The No.10 Queen's women's soccer team earned a tie as they battled Trent Saturday afternoon in Peterborough, Ontario.
Despite outshooting Trent 15-4, the Gaels could not find the back of the net as Trent keeper Annalise Buchowski turned aside all shots that came her way.
Gaels goaltender Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) was perfect in goal for the Gaels as she earned a four save shutout and has yet to allow a goal this season. In their first four games of the season, Queen's has yet to suffer a loss.
Laurier 11 @ Algoma 0
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The No. 9 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's soccer team scored six first half goals to win in dominant fashion over the Algoma Thunderbirds 11-0 Saturday afternoon.
From the opening whistle the Thunderbirds (0-5-0) were no match for the OUA defending champion Golden Hawks (4-1-0). The Hawks did not wait long to find the back of the net in the first half. In the fifth minute, Emily Brown of Waterloo, Ont., scored her first of five goals on the day. From that moment on, Laurier kept pouring on the goals. Maxine Murchie of Kitchener, Ont., scored two goals in the half, while Jessica Craig of Pickering, Ont., and Nicole Lyon of Kitchener Ont., also contributed to help Laurier go into halftime up 6-0.
It was not just the offence that led the charge for the Golden Hawks, who had twenty-nine shots in the first half, but it was also the defence that had a strong showing. In the first half Laurier's defence held the Thunderbirds to zero shots. As the play continued, the Hawks' defensive command would remain evident.
In the second half Laurier scored another five goals. Brown, last year's OUA leading scorer, had a hat trick in the second half. Julie Karn of Kitchener, Ont., and Murchie also scored for the Hawks. Murchie's second half goal completed her first hat-trick in a Laurier uniform. At the sound of the last whistle the Golden Hawks defeated the Thunderbirds 11-0.
Brock 2 @ Waterloo 1
WATERLOO, Ont. – The Brock University women's soccer team (1-5 OUA) picked up their first victory of the season as they defeated the Waterloo Warriors by the score of 2-1 Saturday afternoon on the road.
After a scoreless first half, the Badgers opened the scoring three minutes in the second half as rookie Shaniqua De Gannes drilled a shot from 30 yards out beating Waterloo starting goalkeeper Lesia Bandura, for her first career goal in a Brock uniform.
Waterloo would tie the game in the 57th minute as Acosta Eugenia put a through ball to Adrienne Goldsworthy who beat the Brock defender and buried it into the bottom hand corner past the outstretched Jenna Vasiliaskas.
In the 84th minute, Brock would take the 2-1 lead as De Gannes faked a free kick and slid it over to Nadia Bathish who walked in and drilled a bullet into the back of the goal from 20 yards out that Bandura had no chance on.
In goal, Brock's Vasiliaskas registered eight saves for the victory. Bandura collected two saves in the loss.
Guelph 0 @ Windsor 1
WINDSOR, Ont. – The Windsor Lancers scored in the 78th minute to defeat the Gryphon women's soccer team 1-0 Saturday in Windsor. The Gryphons drop to 2-3 on the season while the Lancers improve to 3-1.
The first half was played scoreless despite plenty of scoring opportunities throughout from both teams. Windsor's best scoring chance was in the 17th minute when Becca Feurth went one-on-one with Gryphon goaltender Elizabeth Brenneman who made an outstanding diving save. Meanwhile the Gryphons top scoring chance was at 39th minutes as the Lancers goalkeeper made an excellent save on a shot by Courtney Whiteside from close range who was put through on a nice pass from Breanna Hall. The score at halftime was locked at 0.
In the second half Jacqueline Goulart was taken down inside the Windsor penalty area after being put through on an excellent pass from Elise De Decker but the referee waived the penalty.
Striking first was the Lancers as their captain Giluia Barile scored the game's lone goal in the 78th minute. Barile spun around inside of the 18 yard box and fired the ball into the low left corner of the net eluding the Gryphon keeper Brenneman who put in a sound performance in her first OUA game.
Guelph pushed hard to score the equalizer and had a number of corner kicks and free kicks outside the Windsor penalty but were unable to convert them into the tying goal.
Sunday, September 14
Ryerson 1 @ Toronto 4
TORONTO – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team defeated the Ryerson Rams 4-1 on Sunday, September 14 at Varsity Centre.
With the win, the Blues improve to 3-1-1, while the Rams drop to 0-5-0 on the season. Toronto remains undefeated against Ryerson in head-to-head history, holding a 45-0-3 record dating back to their first meeting in 1986.
Ryerson midfielder Leah Semeniuk (Whitby, Ont) had the first chance to score in the 10th minute, but she fired her shot right at Blues goalkeeper Sara Petrucci (Bolton, Ont.).
Toronto opened the scoring in the 16th minute as second-year midfielder Claudia Piazza (Brampton, Ont.) sent a free kick to the front of the net that went off a Ryerson Ram for an own goal. Two minutes later, Piazza struck again, firing a long ball into the top right corner of the net.
Toronto held a 2-0 lead at the half.
The Blues wasted no time in the second half as second-year striker Brenda Murillo of Richmond, B.C., notched her first goal of the season in the 49th minute.
Ryerson got on the board in the 59th minute when team captain Sarah Slattery (St. Catharines, Ont.) headed in a Semeniuk corner kick.
The Rams continued to pressure, peppering Blues back up keeper Sonia Ralston, who came into the game at the beginning of the second half, with shots in the 70th minute, including ringing one off the cross bar.
U of T rookie striker Zoe Carty of Ottawa silenced the Rams, notching her first career goal in the 73rd minute. The Ottawa native sent a well-placed shot over Rams goalkeeper Brittney Clendenan's head and into the net.
The Varsity Blues return to the field next Saturday, September 20 as they host the RMC Paladins at Varsity Centre. The game will be streamed live on OUA.tv, starting at 1 p.m.
Ottawa 7 @ Nipissing 2
NORTH BAY, Ont. - There is no doubt that the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team has potential and has some pieces to the puzzle, but they also have some work to do.
The Lakers came up against two very strong teams this weekend and despite a late push Sunday afternoon, dropped a pair of games.
After a 5-0 loss Saturday to the Carleton Ravens, the Lakers were back in action Sunday when they hosted the Ottawa Gee Gees.
The Gee-Gees, much like the Ravens, got off to a quick start and led early.
They opened up the scoring at the eight-minute mark and added two more by the 15-minte mark.
Before the end of the half, the Gee-Gees led 4-0 and were in control of the game.
Two more goals in the second half put the Gee-Gees up 6-0 before the Lakers got on the board and picked up their play, controlling much of the last quarter of the game.
Cassie Parker tapped in a loose ball to put the Lakers on the board at the 76 minute mark, shortly after Ottawa's sixth goal.
Just give minutes later, after a player was taken down in the crease, Kristen Farkas stepped up to the penalty spot and made no mistake to score the Lakers second goal of the game.
Unfortunately, Ottawa would add another goal in the 90th minute to cap off the victory.
Carlee Bennard and Kelly Dunk split the game, each playing a half.
Laurier 12 @ Algoma 0
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. – The No. 9 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's soccer team scored 11 goals in the first half to win handily over the Algoma Thunderbirds 12-0 on the road Sunday afternoon.
Coming off an 11-0 win over the Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon, the Hawks' offence did not show any sign of slowing down. Led by Nicole Lyon of Kitchener, Ont., who scored a career- high four goals, the Golden Hawks continued their offensive dominance over the Thunderbirds.
Emily Brown of Waterloo, Ont., added three goals on the afternoon to take sole possession of the OUA scoring lead with fourteen. Maxine Murchie of Kitchener, Ont., also had a hat-trick, her second in as many games, while Katie Bishop of Surrey, B.C, and Kassia Hayek of Burnaby, B.C., also found the back of the net. For Hayek it was her first career goal at the University level.
After the win the Golden Hawks record improved to 5-1-0, which puts them third in the OUA West division behind only York and Western. With the loss Algoma record drops to 0-6-0 and they find themselves at the bottom of the OUA West division.
York 5 @ Windsor 1
WINDSOR, Ont. – York University Lions women's soccer team extended its winning streak to six games after defeating the Windsor Lancers 5-1 on Sunday (Sept. 14) in Windsor, Ont.
The Lions now lead the OUA West standings with 18 points (6-0-0) and a game in hand.
Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) opened up the scoring with a goal in the 11th minute, and Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.) contributed with another first half goal just before the stroke of halftime to give the Lions a 2-0 lead.
The Lancers responded with a goal in the other end by Jazmin Martin (Tecumseh, Ont.) in the second half.
The Lions extended their lead to 5-1 with two second half goals from substitute Adeife Adekusibe of Nobleton, Ont., in the 74th and 81st minutes, as well as Ghoneim's second of the contest in the 85th minute to give the Lions the comfortable win.
Rookie goalkeeper Courtney Davis (Cambridge, Ont.) earned the fifth win of the season while allowing just the second goal in five contests. She made one save in the victory.
McMaster 1 @ Waterloo 0
WATERLOO, Ont. – Coming off a tough loss to Brock on Saturday afternoon, the Warriors were looking to rebound against the visiting McMaster Marauders. Lesia Bandura (Kitchener) had an excellent game in goal and Melanie Mitchell (Glen Morris) generated multiple quality goal-scoring opportunities. The Warriors conceded one goal to Marauder's Cassandra Wilshire in the 61st minute to lose the game 1-0. The Warriors move to 0-5 on the season.
McMaster opened the game maintaining possession, but Waterloo's defence was sound for much of the opening minutes. Goalkeeper Bandura was tested early, making an impressive save on the Marauders striker to keep the score knotted at 0. She would be tested again in the 20th minute stopping an in-close opportunity on Marauders forward Taylor Lambert.
The momentum would shift to the Warriors in the 25th minute after captain Adrienne Goldsworthy (Waterloo) sent a teasing ball near the Marauders far post which would be volleyed just over the bar. Shortly after, Mitchell would steal an errand pass from Marauders goalkeeper in the 30th minute but floated the shot just wide. Mitchell would miss another in-close opportunity in the 35th minute but showed positive creativity for Waterloo. Bandura would make an incredible diving save in the dying minutes of the first half to send the ladies to the break knotted at 0-0. Shots were 3-3 per side.
The second half would open with Bandura having to be called on once again by stopping a quality cross to maintain the scoreless tie. Cassandra Wilshire would open the scoring for the Marauders in the 61st minute off a quality through ball that was slid under the goalkeeper to break the tie.
Possession would continue to be exchanged before McMaster's Sarah Fettan, who was subbed in for goal-scorer Wilshire, continued generating quality scoring opportunities. The Warriors' Kiersten Colbran (Sarnia) would get the best opportunity for the black and gold in the 81st minute, heading a ball just wide of the near post. Masooda Badar would add one more scoring chance for the Warriors before the game concluded but the shot was sent wide.
The game concluded 1-0 for the Marauders in what was a strong defensive game by both squads.
UOIT 1 @ Queen's 0
KINGSTON, Ont. – The No. 10 Queen's women's soccer team suffered their first loss of the season after being defeated by UOIT 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Gaels came into the match seeking their fourth win of the year as they took on an undefeated UOIT team. Scoring chances were few and far between for both squads, as strong defensive play dominated the first half of the game. Rachel Radu (Ottawa) came close to burying her second goal of the season after cutting in from the wing and releasing a rocket, but was denied on a great diving save by UOIT keeper Melissa Linton.
Both teams came out for the second half looking to break the deadlock. Tara Bartram (Vancouver) had an early scoring chance but could not convert as she sailed the ball over the bar.
The UOIT offence quickly responded with scoring opportunities of their own, highlighted by a shot that found the Gaels crossbar and went out of play. The Ridgebacks offensive pressure eventually paid off in the 66th minute, when Shannon Lucas buried a penalty shot for the lone goal of the game, ending Madison Tyrell's (White Rock, B.C.) season clean-sheet streak at four games.
Western 2 @ Guelph 0
GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team lost a hard fought match Sunday, falling by a score of 2-0 to the Western Mustangs at the Gryphons Soccer Complex. The loss drops the Gryphons to 2-4-0 on the season while the Mustangs improve to 6-1-0.
The teams were evenly matched, keeping most of the play around centre-field for the better part of the first half. Western was able to score in the fifth minute off of a rebound from goalie Elizabeth Brenneman (Baden, Ont.). Brennan saved a total of 12 shots throughout the game to hold off the Mustangs.
The Gryphons stayed on the defensive in the second half, led by starters Sarah Magalhaes (Ajax, Ont.) and Stephanie Moore (Mississauga, Ont.). Western scored off of a penalty shot in the 81st minute of play and despite their best attempts to push the play into Western's end, Guelph was unable to score.
Carleton 2 @ Laurentian 0
RMC 0 @ Trent 2