W-SOCCER ROUNDUP: No. 2 ranked Lions win and draw over weekend
TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women’s soccer team fell 3-0 to the first place and No. 2 nationally ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on Saturday afternoon at Monarch Park Stadium.
Saturday, October 4
Ottawa 3 @ Ryerson 0
TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's soccer team fell 3-0 to
the first place and No. 2 nationally ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees on
Saturday afternoon at Monarch Park Stadium.
The Rams and Gee-Gees played a scoreless first half but Ottawa
dominated possession and played the majority of time in the
attacking third of the field.
On the first play of the second half, Ottawa's Faythe Lou opened
the scoring with her eighth goal of the season to give the Gee-Gees
a 1-0 lead.
Ryerson had been content to sit back and play defensively but
after Ottawa opened the scoring the Rams had to take a more
aggressive approach.
"In the first half, even though it wasn't pretty to watch, from
our perspective it was a good defensive display. (The goal) gave us
a bit of a mountain to climb and it meant that if we wanted
something out of the game we had to commit more numbers forward,
which…exposes areas of the field we didn't want to expose,"
said head coach Kevin Souter following the game.
As the Rams tried to push up field and generate chances of their
own, Ottawa countered with a nice passing play which resulted in
Elisabeth Wong finding the back of the net in the 67th minute to
double the Gee-Gees' lead.
Victoria Marchand added an extra insurance marker in the 80th
minute to round out the scoring at 3-0.
Ottawa's Cynthia Leblanc had to make just one save to earn the
cleansheet victory while Rebecca Petrocelli (Woodbridge, Ont.) made
six saves in the losing effort.
Queen's 2 @ Laurentian 0
SUDBURY, Ont. – SUDBURY, Ont. (October 4, 2014) - The Gaels earned a 2-0 road win on Saturday afternoon as Jessie de Boer (North Vancouver, B.C.) netted both goals to extend her scoring streak to four games.
The match was a defensive battle from the opening minute as Queen's was unable to register a shot on goal in the first half.
Queen's broke through early in the second half as De Boer opened the scoring in the 49th minute. De Boer doubled the Gaels lead in the 73rd minute as she buried her second of the game and sixth in the last four games.
Keeper Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) turned aside all three shots that came her way, earning her OUA leading sixth clean sheet.
RMC 0 @ Nipissing 4
Queen's 3 @ Nipissing 1 (Sunday)
NORTH BAY, Ont. – After a key shutout win over RMC on Saturday the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team was looking to make it a perfect weekend.
Unfortunately, the Queens Gaels had other plans and ruined the Lakers plans, as they took the game 3-1, forcing the Lakers to settle for a split.
With Saturday's win, the Lakers snapped a mini-slump and pulled themselves back into the playoff picture.
They are currently one point back of Laurentian for the final playoff spot, depending on the Voyageurs results today against RMC.
Rachel Haine scored the lone Lakers goal Sunday as Queens held a 2-1 lead heading into the half and despite making a push to tie it in the final 45-minutes, the Lakers were unable to knot things up.
The Gaels added an insurance marker and walked away with the three points.
UOIT 2 @ Trent 0
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. – UOIT put a damper on Trent's homecoming celebration on Saturday as the No. 9 ranked Ridgebacks shutout the Excalibur 3-0.
The victory marked UOIT's third straight shutout, as they improve to 9-0-2 on the year. The Ridgebacks trail the Ottawa Gee-Gees by just one point with five games remaining in the regular season, with the teams set to showdown in Ottawa in the final weekend of play.
Shannon Lucas (Ajax, Ont.) got the Ridgebacks on the board with 16 minutes to go in the first half as she intercepted a pass to the goalkeeper and buried the ball into the back of the net for her seventh of the season. It looked as if Trent would go into halftime only down by one, until Nicole Zajac (Mississauga, Ont.) sent a pass across the field to Shynice Williams (Mississauga, Ont.), who outran the defender and slipped the ball by the keeper. Williams has scored in two consecutive games for UOIT.
In the second half, the Ridgebacks continued to control the flow of the game with their quick passing attack. UOIT would strike one last time when Cassandra Sribny (Pickering, Ont.) netted her fifth of the season.
Melissa Linton (Cobourg, Ont.) recorded her third straight shutout, as she stopped both of Trent's shots on target. Although she was not overly busy with shots, she did a good job of gathering up loose balls to regain possession for UOIT.
In 11 games this season, UOIT has outscored their opponents 30-6. The Ridgebacks also swept the season series against Trent 2-0.
The Ridgebacks remain as one of five teams in the CIS without a loss. The team will look to continue their unbeaten streak next weekend in their final two home games of the regular season. UOIT will take on Laurentian (Saturday) and Nipissing (Sunday), before heading out on the road for three games to close out the season.
Guelph 0 @ York 2
TORONTO – The No. 4 nationally ranked York University Lions women's soccer team defeated the Guelph Gryphons by a score of 2-0 with two goals from Nour Ghoneim on Saturday (Oct. 4) at York Stadium.
In the first half of play, Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) opened up the scoring in the 24th minute with an assist by Charlene D'Mello (Mississauga, Ont.). D'Mello's cross allowed Ghoneim to break through the defensive line and swiftly pass the ball to the back of the net.
Ghoneim scored her second goal in the 38th minute, assisted by a cheeky chip from Sarah Wong (Toronto). Ghoneim now has a total of 16 goals in only 11 games, putting her third in the OUA.
Lions' defenders Shannon Wood (Brampton, Ont.), Tomika McIntosh (Bradford, Ont.), Peyton Lozzi (King City, Ont.) and Taylor Lyons (Brampton, Ont.) played an exceptional tactical game by pushing the defensive line forward, up the wings, to create several chances for the Lions' attackers. The defenders were also able to hustle backwards to deny the Gryphons of any goals.
The Lions' quick passing and fearless attacking allowed them to swiftly maneuver around the Gryphons. However, the Gryphons rapidly intercepted many York passes and picked up several deflections, making the Lions' win difficult to hold on to.
Guelph's goalkeeper, Elizabeth Brenneman, played an excellent game, making eight phenomenal saves and denying the Lions 12 shots on net. She made an excellent save in the 86th minute of play, denying Francesca Pedulla (Richmond Hill, Ont.) of scoring a third goal for the Lions.
Her counterpart at the other end of the pitch, Courtney Davis (Cambridge, Ont.), worked very hard this game to finish with a shutout, denying any rogue balls slip past her grasp.
Carleton 0 @ Toronto 1
TORONTO – Second-year midfielder Claudia Piazza scored in
the 40th minute to lead the University of Toronto Varsity Blues
women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the Carleton Ravens on
Saturday, October 4 at Varsity Centre.
With the win, the Blues improve to 6-3-1, while the Ravens drop to
5-3-3 in the tight OUA East standings.
Piazza jumped on a loose ball inside the box and made no mistake
in finding the back of the next in the 40th minute.
The Blues had nine corner kicks, compared to Carleton's one and
outshot the Ravens 9-3 in the win.
Sara Petrucci posted two saves in Toronto's sixth shutout of the
season.
Laurier 0 @ McMaster 0
HAMILTON, Ont. – Needing points desperately and with a
dangerous opponent across from them, the Marauders did the sensible
thing on Saturday: they put up the barricades.
The Marauders were largely content to defend and stymie the
Laurier Golden Hawks, and came away with a point from a 0-0 draw at
Ron Joyce Stadium.
Brittany Duffey commanded her area well on Saturday, and fully
deserved the clean sheet.
Coach Brett Mosen held his midfield well back for much of the
match, and sent a single forward to occasionally harrass Laurier's
back line. It was a strategy that increasingly frustrated the
Golden Hawks, as they probed for an opening that never came.
The strategy nearly sprung a surprise on the offensive end, when
forward Emma Mangialardi was sent one-on-one with a Laurier
defender by a well-weighed through ball late in the second half.
She was unable to shake her defender, however, and the visitors
were spared on the counter.
Instead, McMaster remained disciplined on the defensive end, and
came away with a point to be proud of against a Laurier team that
had only dropped points on two previous occasions this season, and
had badly beaten the Marauders in September.
Algoma 1 @ Waterloo 5
Algoma 1 @ Waterloo 8 (Sunday)
WATERLOO, Ont. – Fresh off an away victory against the McMaster Marauders last weekend, the Warriors ladies faced the Algoma Thunderbirds at Warrior Field on a chilly Saturday afternoon. Melanie Mitchell (Glen Morris) had a three goal performance in a dominant 5-1 victory. The Warriors had a stellar week of play going 3-0 to give them some ground to secure a playoff spot.
Mitchell opened the scoring for the host team in the 18th minute on a well-placed shot and the Warriors never slowed down. The hosts completely dominated the first half managing fourteen attempts on goal with six of them on target. Algoma's Lauren Moore put had a solid half making 4 saves.
Mitchell scored again in the 36th minute to give the Warriors a two goal cushion to send the teams to the break with complete control of the game.
Waterloo started the second half much the same way they ended the first with were numerous attempts on the Algoma goal. The Warriors were able to score again in the 76th minute when Kaitlin Unger notched a tally followed by Mitchell collecting her hat-trick in the 84th minute heading the ball home.
Algoma played spoiler in the 88th minute when Brooklyn Seatter broke the shutout bid for goaltender Lesia Bandura (Kitchener). Marina Drygala (Waterloo) scored for the Warriors in stoppage time to seal the 5-1 victory.
Sunday:
The Warriors hosted a rematch on Sunday afternoon and bettered their score from the previous match. The Warriors defeated the Thunderbirds 8-1 and got scoring from Melanie Mitchell (Glen Morris) (2), Kaitlyn Unger (Ajax) (2), Emilie Mesec (Kanata), Marina Drygala (Waterloo), Kelsey-Ann Prior (Sarnia), and regular goalkeeper Lesia Bandura (Kitchener) as she substituted into a striker role in the second half.
Worth Mentioning:
Melanie Mitchell (Glen Morris) also takes home athlete-of-the-week honours for Waterloo. The Warriors are now 3-0 in their last three games and will host the Windsor Lancers Wednesday at 6pm on Warrior Field. The Warriors lost 2-1 to Windsor two weeks ago and will be looking for revenge in what is an important game in the playoff push for the black and gold.
Sunday, October 5
Carleton 0 @ Ryerson 0
TORONTO – The Ryerson Rams women's soccer team picked up a valuable point in the standings, playing to a 0-0 draw with the visiting Carleton Ravens on Sunday afternoon at Monarch Park. Stadium.
The Rams also honoured their graduating players in the annual Senior Day game. Sarah Slattery, Lianna Woollard, Amy Tahmizian, Leah Semeniuk and Katrina Persson-Thomas are playing in their final season with the Rams and were recognized in a pre-game ceremony.
With Sunday's tie with the Ravens, Ryerson (3-7-1) remains in the hunt for a playoff spot in the OUA East division. The Rams are three points back of Laurentian (4-6-2) for the final playoff spot in the division and are tied for seventh with Nipissing (3-8-1). Ryerson has a game-in-hand on both teams.
"We haven't had good results with Carleton in the past, so we'll take the tie" said head coach Kevin Souter. "But as the game played out, I thought maybe we deserved something more out of it. We had some chances and I thought limited their chances."
Brock 0 @ Western 0
LONDON, Ont. – With only four games left in the regular season, the Western Mustangs extended their undefeated streak to six games with a 0-0 tie against Brock on Sunday afternoon at Mustangs Field.
"We switched formations which wasn't really effective for us. We tried a lot of looks, maybe made too many changes – whatever it was it just wasn't clicking for us today," said head coach Martin Painter on Sunday's tie. "We were good moving the ball into the attacking third, but once we got it there we weren't very good with it."
With the tie, the Mustangs regular season record now sits at 10-1-1. Western maintains the top position in the OUA West Division with 31 points on the season. Brock's regular season record sits at 4-8-1.
The Mustangs took control of the game immediately, maintaining possession for the majority of the first half. Despite good ball movement and constant offensive attacks, Western was unable to finish on their chances and ended the first half with the score sitting at 0-0.
Play in the second half closely resembled that of the first, with the Mustangs dominating the play in the middle. Shifting their strategy to try and put themselves on the scoreboard, the purple and white were still unable to get the ball into the back of the Brock net.
York 0 @ McMaster 0
HAMILTON, Ont. – A day after frustrating the Laurier
Golden Hawks with a defense-first approach, the Marauders used the
same tactic to great effect on Sunday.
McMaster (3-6-3) held the OUA West-leading York Lions off the
scoreboard en route to their second scoreless draw in as many days
at Ron Joyce Stadium.
Goalkeeper Brittany Duffey was immense once again, making 16 saves
and fully earning her second consecutive clean sheet.
Having taken two points from two weekend games against top-three
opponents in the division, McMaster stands seventh in the OUA West
standings, one point back of the Brock Badgers but with one fewer
game played.
Just as they did on Saturday, McMaster employed a single striker
Sunday, and focused on defensive organization to hold York at bay.
Maureen Mai and Emma Mangialardi, who shared forward duties on the
afternoon, had occasional opportunities with the ball at their
feet. But support was rare, and McMaster managed only a single shot
on York goalkeeper Courtney Davis.
Coach Mosen and his team won't mind, however, as they escaped a
tricky weekend doubleheader in the thick of the OUA playoff race.
With one more game to play than the sixth-place Badgers, and a
doubleheader finale against the winless Algoma Thunderbirds in
store, the Marauders must like their chances to sneak into the
postseason.
Ottawa 2 @ Toronto 0
TORONTO – The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's
soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to the No. 2 Ottawa Gee-Gees on
Sunday, October 5 at Varsity Centre.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 6-4-1 and remain in fourth place
in the OUA East, while Ottawa improves to 11-1-0 and sit atop the
standings.
The Gee-Gees got on the board first as they were awarded a penalty
kick in the seventh minute. After Pilar Koury was taken down in the
box, Ottawa's Chara Quadri stepped up for the PK and fired the ball
off Blues goalkeeper Sara Petrucci and into the bottom left corner
of the net.
The Blues had a good chance to even the score three minutes later
as Chelsea Cheung got the ball off a turnover in the box, but her
shot sailed just over the net. Ottawa held onto the 1-0 lead at the
half.
The Gee-Gees went ahead in the 58th minute. After Petrucci made a
couple of big saves, Sophie Curtis buried a rebound to extend the
visiting team's lead to two.
The Blues almost got on the board in the 72nd minute when Alyssa
Golin sent a booming shot on net but Ottawa keeper Cynthia LeBlanc
jumped up to make a big save.
Petrucci posted five saves in the loss.
The Varsity Blues honoured graduating athlete and co-captain Lisa
English in a special pre-game ceremony.
Laurier 1 @ Windsor 0
WINDSOR, Ont. – The Lancer women's soccer team lost a heartbreaker to the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Field.
Windsor lost 1-0 on a goal scored in the last minute of play and are now 6-5-0 on the season and remain in fourth place in the OUA West Division.
Windsor's Jaclyn Faraci had a chance to put Windsor on the board with a nice break away in the 48th minute of play but the shot went just high over the net.
Bella Riccardi stole the ball of Laurier's last defender, but was unable to get a shot off, resulting in a Laurier foul. Riccardi received an indirect shot in the box, but wasn't able find the back of the net.
Both teams increased their intensity to look for that once goal in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Laurier was able to pull ahead when Kelsey Tikka's shot from 40 yards out deflected and found itself in the far corner of the net.
Other Scores:
RMC 0 @ Laurentian 7 (Sunday)