W-SOCCER ROUNDUP: Ottawa ends season on 15-game winning streak
OTTAWA - The Gee-Gees women’s soccer team shutout the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, locking up the no.1 spot in the OUA East division. The win is Ottawa’s fourteenth consecutive win and fifth straight shutout, and the first place finish is the third consecutive season at the top of the OUA East.
Photo by Richard A. Whittaker
Saturday, October 18
UOIT 2 @ Ottawa 4
OTTAWA - The Gee-Gees women's soccer team shutout the UOIT Ridgebacks 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, locking up the no.1 spot in the OUA East division. The win is Ottawa's fourteenth consecutive win and fifth straight shutout, and the first place finish is the third consecutive season at the top of the OUA East.
Pilar Khoury scored twice, including the first goal for the Gee-Gees which was assisted by midfielder Morgan McNeil's corner kick pass just two minutes into the game.
Only six minutes later it was McNeil's turn to find the back of the net with a hard shot thanks to Khoury's pass after some manoeuvres around UOIT defenders.
McNeil says the rematch game against UOIT was marked on Ottawa's calendar since the initial loss against them. "It was a game we were looking forward to right from the beginning, we were definitely ready for this game and pumped up. We came out and it was a full team effort and we really battled to the end."
Gee-Gee newcomer Kayla Da Costa-Pacheco had a great chance early in the second half, hitting the cross bar on a strong shot. But it wasn't until the 58 minutes mark that Khoury netted the ball in the corner after moving the ball forward with her teammates.
Forward Elisabeth Wong was then able to move her way to the front to set up Sophie Curtis for a goal at 78 minutes into the second half.
Gee-Gee Coach Steve Johnson says he's pleased with season and that his team has gotten better. "We've now played three tough games in a row including Queen's, UOIT and Carleton with a clean sheet for each of all those games and that makes me really pleased with our defensive performance."
Ryerson 1 @ Laurentian 0
SUDBURY, Ont. - A day after being eliminated from postseason contention, the Ryerson Rams women's soccer team put together one of their best offensive performances of the season, defeating the Nipissing Lakers 4-1 to close the season.
BOXSCORE
The win is the sixth of the season for the Rams which ties the program record from 2011 for most wins in a season.
"Even with our playoff hopes dashed, this was an important game for us and none more so than our seniors. Of the six wins, we accomplished two great feats against nationally ranked Queen's and UOIT. We can be proud of the finish to our season today and it leaves great energy and enthusiasm for next year," said head coach Kevin Souter following the game.
Alex Rodkin (Whitby, Ont.) opened the scoring for Ryerson in just the eighth minute of play. The goal was Rodkin's seventh of the season which is the most since Kendra Welham also scored seven for the Rams in 2011.
Nipissing tied the game in the 22nd minute when Sara Dorval converted a penalty kick and the score stayed tied into halftime.
The Rams got the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute off the foot of Soraya El-houni(Toronto) before adding insurance markers in the 82nd minute from Hanna Park(Markham, Ont.) and 90th minute from Amy Tahmizian (Aurora, Ont.).
Ryerson finishes the season with a 6-9-1 record, good for seventh place and just one point shy of the final playoff berth.
Toronto 2 @ Nipissing 2
NORTH BAY, Ont. -
Saturday afternoon was a bittersweet day for the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team, as they got both good and bad news.
The good news was they played an extremely strong second half and picked up a point thanks to a 2-2 tie against the Toronto Varsity Blues.
The bad news, the Lakers will fall short of the playoffs, as the Laurentian Voyageurs won their game and eliminated the Lakers.
Despite trailing by a goal twice, the Lakers fought back each time and had a number of quality chances to take the lead and earn the win, but the ball just didn't bounce their way.
After surrendering an early goal, Vanessa Rota found the back of the net in the 11th minute to tie the game at one.
Just four minutes later, the Lakers once again allowed a goal and found themselves trailing 2-1.
The teams went back and forth for the rest of the half before Shannon Russell hammered home the tying goal in the 44th minutes to send the teams to the break tied at two.
The Lakers came out flying in the second half, but couldn't manage to take the lead and the two teams played to a draw.
Toronto will finish third or fourth in the division depending on Sunday's results, while the Lakers can finish no higher than seventh place, as they sit with 14 points, six back of the final playoff spot with one game to go.
With a win Sunday, the Lakers will jump the Ryerson Rams and into seventh.
McMaster 7 @ Algoma 0
McMaster 12 @ Algoma 1 (Sunday)
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - A trip to Sault Ste. Marie proved to be exactly what the Marauder offence needed, as McMaster exploded for 19 goals in a pair of wins against the Algoma Thunderbirds.
Taking six points from contests on Saturday and Sunday, McMaster clinched the sixth and final playoff spot in the OUA West, and will next travel to Toronto for a first round match against the York Lions on Wednesday.
The Marauders began their weekend with a 7-0 shutout of the Thunderbirds, as the trio of Taylor Lambert, Maureen Mai and Kelsey Orlando each had a pair of goals, while Brittany Duffey faced just two shots en route to a clean sheet.
Lambert and Mai added two more goals to their weekend tally on Sunday, and rookie Robynn McGroarty had a hat trick, as McMaster put 12 shots past Algoma goalkeeper Lauren Moore. Amanda Jones, Sarah Fettah, Noor Sakran and Sophia Ykema also scored as Moore found herself besieged on Sunday and faced 23 shots on goal.
Duffey made four saves in the Sunday win, but narrowly missed out on a second clean sheet when she conceded Algoma's lone goal to Taylor Bellini in the 40th minute.
The Marauders will have to refocus quickly, as they size up an elimination game against the Lions. York won the season series between these two teams in 2014, winning their match in Toronto and drawing at Ron Joyce Stadium earlier this month.
Laurier 7 @ Brock 0
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The No. 7 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks women's soccer team traveled to St. Catharines to take on the Brock Badgers in their final game of the regular season. The last time these two teams faced off, the Golden Hawks had to come from behind to win a close one 3-2. This time around it was a completely different story as the Hawks showed why they are the No. 7 team in the nation with a convincing 7-0 win Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Hawks got on the board early in the game. In the 16th minute, Hawks' striker Emily Brown of Waterloo, Ont., scored her 21st goal of the year. The goal gives Brown 63 career tallies which ties the OUA modern day record for career goals with former Queen's Gael and Toronto Varsity Blue Eilish McConnville.
From this point on, the defending OUA champions did not look back. Two minutes after Brown's goal, Nicole Lyon of Kitchener, Ont., scored her first of three goals in a row on the afternoon. For Lyon it was her first career natural hat trick and gave her 13 on the season, fifth best in the province.
The Hawks would put the game away midway through the second half. Midfielder Jacqueline Lence of Mississauga, Ont., scored her first goal of the season in the 61st minute, while Maxine Muchie of Kitchener, Ont., would add two more goals to extend the lead to seven.
Hawks goal keeper, Maggie Carmichael of Orono, Ont., had a quiet afternoon, only having to make two saves in the game to pick up her 11th shutout of the season.
With the win Laurier finishes the season with a record of 12-1-3 and is sitting at the top of the OUA West division, for now. Both the No. 5 York Lions and No. 8 Western Mustangs only need a victory to take the top spot away from the Hawks and each team has one more game in the season. The final game for each team is against one another. The only way the Hawks have a chance in taking the top spot in the division is for the Lions and Mustangs to play to a draw.
Guelph 3 @ Western 0
LONDON, Ont. - Stephanie Di Tella picked up a pair of goals to help the Mustangs women's soccer team secure a 3-0 victory against the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday afternoon at Mustang Field.
"We had a good build-up plan, they dropped off so we looked to move the ball to feet and combine around the top of the box and tried to get some penetration wide," head coach Martin Painter said when describing the Mustangs' offensive attack. "We created a lot of chances; it was a good performance."
The victory starts the weekend off on a high note for the Mustangs as they look to fight for first place in their last two matches of the season. Saturday's win now puts Western's record at 12-2-1, with Guelph dropping to 6-8-1. The purple and white currently sit in third place with 37 points; one point behind second place York and two points behind Laurier.
Western came ready to battle, putting heavy pressure on the Gryphons straight from the opening whistle. Claiming the majority of possession and making numerous pushes in the attacking third of the field, the Mustangs were able to get themselves on the scoreboard at the 33 minute mark when Angelika Michalopolous put a far shot past the Gryphon's goalie. This would give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead heading into the second half.
Despite the cold and windy conditions, Western continued the momentum of the first half, dominating the play and pressuring the Guelph defence in the second half of play. After coming off the bench halfway through the second Di Tella was determined to make an impact, and that she did – curling a shot in at the 71 minute mark before blasting in another goal just five minutes later to put the Mustangs up 3-0. A solid defensive effort by the purple and white would allow the Gryphons only one shot on net in the entire game, helping goalie Tori Edgar record her ninth shutout of the season. The Mustangs trio of goals would prove to be enough, with the team coming away with the 3-0 victory and another three points.
The Mustangs have one final contest in the regular season on Sunday at York, in which they will be looking to claim another victory in hopes of winning the OUA West Division and a first round playoff bye.
"Tomorrow looking at it, if we win we finish first and win our division – so we have our destiny in our hands," Painter said about Sunday's matchup. "We're going to do everything we can to win."
Windsor 0 @ York 3
TORONTO - The York University Lions women's soccer team posted a 3-0 victory over the Windsor Lancers at York Stadium on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 18) to stay in the running for top spot in the OUA West standings heading into the season finale on Sunday.
The win improved the No. 5 nationally-ranked Lions' record to 12-1-2 and has them in second place in the division, one point behind the Laurier Golden Hawks and with one game remaining on the schedule. The Golden Hawks have already finished regular-season play and will scoreboard watch on Sunday.
The Lions made quick work of the Lancers, scoring two first-half goals and another early in the second for the win, while firing 13 total shots on Windsor goalkeeper Krystin Lawrence.
Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.) scored her seventh of the season of a cross from Christina Morelli(Richmond Hill, Ont.) in the 20th minute, and 15 minutes later Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) netted her 17th, with an assist from Lewis, before the end of the half.
Adeife Adekusibe (Nobleton, Ont.) rounded out the scoring in the 51st minute.
The Lancers managed just one shot on goal, which was saved by Courtney Davis (Cambridge, Ont.) for another clean sheet. Lawrence finished with 10 saves in the contest.
The Lions will close the regular season with a huge game against the Western Mustangs, the other team battling for a first-round bye in the division. The Lions need a win to move into first place, and can secure one of the byes with a draw.
Trent 0 @ Carleton 4
OTTAWA - The Carleton Ravens beat the Trent Excalibur 4-0 Saturday evening.
Carleton scored early on with a great through ball by Raven Tina Lacava. Putting it to the back of the net with a great finish was Adrianna Ruggiero at the 21-minute mark of the first half.
About five minutes into the second half, Carleton's Jenna Lu got the ball and took a perfect shot. The ball went passed the outstretched arms of the Excalibur's goalie. At the 63rd minute of the game, Ruggiero potted her second goal of the game. Carleton's Rachel Page took a shot and it deflected off a Trent defender making the score 4-0. It was Page's first goal as Raven. She's a first year midfielder out of Markham, Ontario.
Sunday, October 19
Ryerson 4 @ Nipissing 1
NORTH BAY, Ont. - Despite a strong effort and overall, a season in which they battled every game, the Nipissing Lakers women's soccer team couldn't cap off the season with a win.
The Lakers surrendered three second half goals as the visiting Ryerson Rams walked away with a 4-1 win Sunday afternoon in North Bay.
After surrendering an early goal, the Lakers tied the game on a penalty shot by Sara Dorval at the 22-minte mark.
The teams headed to the half even, but the last 45 minutes was all Ryerson.
The Rams scored three goals in the final 20 minutes – at 71, 82 and 90 minutes – to put the game away and claim the three points.
The Lakers fell short of the playoffs and finished in eighth spot in the OUA's East Division with a 4-10-2 record.
Toronto 1 @ Laurentian 0
SUDBURY, Ont. - Fourth-year midfielder Olivia Gonsalves scored late in the match to lead the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs in their regular-season finale on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 19) in Sudbury, Ont.
With the win, the Blues finish the season with a 10-4-2 record in third place in the OUA East division. Toronto will now host the Voyageurs (6-8-2) in an OUA playoff this Wednesday, October 22 at Varsity Centre.
Gonsalves scored the game's lone goal in the 81st minute to seal the win for the Blues.
U of T goalkeeper Sara Petrucci made four saves and earned the clean sheet.
Western 1 @ York 0
TORONTO - The No. 5 nationally ranked York University Lions women's soccer team lost its final regular-season game to the No. 8 Western Mustangs in a battle for first place in the OUA West standings, 1-0 on Sunday (Oct. 19) at York Stadium.
With the loss, the Lions finish the regular season in third place in the division, one point behind the Laurier Golden Hawks. The Mustangs clinched top spot by just a single point. Both Western and Laurier earned first-round byes, while the Lions will have to play a first-round match.
The first half ended scoreless despite many opportunities from both sides.
The best chance for the Lions was a one-touch shot from Christina Morelli (Markham, Ont.) in the 20th minute that landed in the hands of the Western keeper Tori Edgar. The best chance for the Mustangs was an offside shot by Amanda Boyle that skimmed the far right post in the 45thminute.
Only four minutes into the second half, Western's Tianna Deluzio scored her fourth goal of the season with an impressive 30-yard shot that bounced off the inside of the crossbar, behindCourtney Davis (Cambridge, Ont.), and passed the goal line.
In the last 90 minutes of play York was given one last chance to tie the game as they were awarded a corner kick. Lewis took the corner and sent the ball to the far left corner to Nour Ghoneim (Aurora, Ont.) that skimmed the goal post.
The Mustangs dominated possession throughout the game with their quick passes and players that pounced on the York turnovers. The Mustangs had a total of nine corner kicks and four shots on net.
The Lions had over 20 through balls, majority of them to the wingers Aisha Lewis (Mississauga, Ont.) and Morelli, but were too far away for the wingers and landed straight in Edgar's hands.
Defensively, Tomika McIntosh (Bradford, Ont.) played a great game as she matched OUA leading scorer Amanda Boyle's speed through her accurate slide tackles and constant hustle to protect the Lions' net.
Up next for the Lions is a home playoff game on Wednesday (Oct. 22) against the sixth-place McMaster Marauders at York Stadium. The winner will advance to an OUA quarter-final game against the Golden Hawks on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 26).
Trent 1 @ Ottawa 2
OTTAWA - The Ottawa Gee-Gees earned a 2-1 win at home on Sunday against the Trent Excalibur in the last game of the regular season. The no. 2 ranked Gee-Gees finish first in the OUA East with a final record of 15-1-0.
"We wanted to be able to give experience to players who did not get as much playing time this this year," explained Gee-Gees head coach Steve Johnson. "The benefit of finishing first with a game in hand gave us the opportunity to do that today."
The Gee-Gees had good possession of the ball in the attacking zone, allowing only a few shots on goal during the first half. But it was Trent's Abby Lloyd who netted the ball first in the top left corner from a free kick with three minutes left before half time.
Johnson says it took his rookie line up a little bit of time to settle but knew they still had it in them to win. "We wanted to make sure they still had confidence in themselves in the second half and that we felt there was two goals in it for us."
And two goals was exactly what happened for the Gee-Gees in the in the second half. The first goal got in off a corner kick rebound at the 50th minute of play by defender Hannah Landry. The second goal came after a long pause due to an injury for the Excalibur. After over 20 minutes of waiting time, the Gee-Gees came back strong and striker Victoria Marchand scored the game winner less than a minute after play had resumed, at the 82 minute mark.
Gee-Gee forward Elisabeth Wong says her team kept persisting. "It took us to the last ten minutes to finally get it but we just kept working, we knew it was going to come eventually."
Trent Excalibur head coach Joe Muldoon says although the Gee-gees got the win he's happy with his squad's performance. "We competed against the top team in Ontario, our momentum shifted after an unlucky injury but I thought we held very well and played good defence."
The Gee-Gees will host the second round of the OUA playoffs at 1 p.m. on Sunday October 26.
Windsor 1 @ Guelph 3
GUELPH, Ont - The Guelph Gryphons women's soccer team ended the regular season on a high note Sunday afternoon, with a 3-1 victory at home. Switching up the starting lineup paid off as Gryphons forwards Sydney Holden (Peterborough, Ont.) and Kaitlin Mulholland (Burlington, Ont.) pushed the play into Windsor's end right away and kept it there for much of the first half. Bianca Ferlisi (Woodbridge, Ont.) consistently held the defensive line with teammate Allison Clouse(Oakville, Ont.) helping to clear the ball from Guelph's zone. The new line combinations were effective and consistent in their passing but each player also kept a strong one-on-one defense to prevent Windsor from assembling plays. The first half was scoreless until the 40th minute, when Windsor was able to pull ahead by one goal thanks to a penalty kick.
In the second half, the play was more back and forth but defender Ellie MacDonald (Aurora, Ont.) worked hard to cover Guelph's defensive zone. The Gryphons' hard work and some halftime substitutions paid off in the 67th minute with a goal by Jacqueline Goulart (Mississauga, Ont.), quickly followed by a second from Courtney Whiteside(Guelph, Ont.). The offensive pressure enabled the forward line to make 10 shots on net in the second half, and the scoring momentum carried the Gryphons to a third goal, scored by Goulart on a penalty kick. Centre midfielder Elise De Decker (London, Ont.) had a perfect opportunity with a beautiful shot past the goalie in the 84th game but was unable to score due to an unlucky bounce off the goalpost. The Guelph defense did not allow any shots on net in the second half, and goalie Holly Miller (Oakville, Ont.) made a total of six saves throughout the game.
The 3-1 victory brings the Gryphons' season record to 7-8-1 going into the OUA playoffs which will get underway on Wednesday (Oct. 22).
RMC 3 @ Queen's 6
KINGSTON, Ont. - The Gaels exploded offensively as they scored six goals in a 6-3 victory over RMC in the final game of the regular season.
Queen's dominated the first half of the match, outshooting RMC 18-2. Tara Bartram (Vancouver) opened the scoring in the 20th minute after receiving a through ball from Breanna Burton (Ottawa). Bartram took possession of the ball, switched it from her right to left foot and buried it into the open net. The Gaels struck again in the 36th minute when Laura Callender (Nepean, Ont.) deposited a rebound off a corner kick. Queen's continued to apply offensive pressure and converted on two additional scoring opportunities as both Melissa Jung (Mississauga, Ont.) and Brittany Almeida(Kingston, Ont.) found the scoresheet. Keeper Madison Tyrell (White Rock, B.C.) started in net for the Gaels, collecting one save before being replaced by Michaila Frawley (Victoria, B.C.) to start the second half.
The Gaels quickly added to their lead three minutes into the second half as Bartram buried her second of the match and sixth of the season. Callender followed suit with a second tally of her own to give Queen's the commanding 6-0 lead. RMC eventually found the back of the net on a hat-trick from Brooke Blogg, but could not erase the deficit.
Tyrell earned her seventh victory of the season while RMC's Nicolle Gaudet suffered the loss after making 14 saves on the afternoon. Final shots for the match totalled 24-7 in favour of Queen's.
The Gaels finish the season in fourth place of the OUA East Division with a record of 9-4-3.
UOIT 3 @ Carleton 1
OTTAWA - The No. 4 ranked UOIT women's soccer team ended a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Carleton Ravens in their regular season finale.
The Ridgebacks finish the season in second place in the OUA eastern conference with a 12-2-2 record, setting program records for most wins and points in a season. The team also earned a bye into the OUA quarterfinals, in which they will host next Sunday at Oshawa Civic Fields.
The Ridgebacks opened the scoring against Carleton quickly off a brilliant effort from Kayla De Souza (Toronto, Ont.), who put the ball past Ravens goalkeeper Rada Mintchev in the just the second minute of the match.
The Ravens got the equalizer in the 27th minute, when second-year forward Vanessa Germano found herself alone behind the defenders and made no mistake putting the ball past the diving goalkeeper, Melissa Linton (Cobourg, Ont.), for her second goal of the season.
In the second half, De Souza regained the Ridgebacks advantage as she chipped the ball from the edge of the six-yard box that trickled past everyone just inside the right post. The two goals were De Souza's first two since the season opener on August 30th.
UOIT midfielder Shynice Williams extended the lead in the 60th minute when Mintchev misplayed a ball and it landed right at Williams' feet for an easy tap in finish. Williams has five goals this season, all coming within the past seven games.
Linton would end up making three saves in her 12th win, as she has played every minute in goal for UOIT this season.
The No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees and Ridgebacks will await the opening round results to find out who their quarterfinal opponent will be. Queen's (fourth) will take on Carleton (fifth) and Toronto (third) will match up against Laurentian (sixth).
Source: UOIT Ridgebacks
Other Scores
Waterloo 2 @ Brock 2